Helpless
by Dannrose
Summary: After an incident involving Hookfang and a Typoomerang, Snotlout and Toothless are stranded together. Captured by Beserkers Snotlout finds himself completely helpless as he is used in a scheme of Dagur's to kill his uncle Stoick. Taking different routes Toothless, Stoick and Hiccup set out to rescue the boy determined to bring him home safely. Set in my 'Differently Similar' AU.
1. Stranded

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here is the rewrite of 'One Which Isn't Your Own'. I've decided to change the title since it didn't really fit with the story that it ended up as. I'm also going to be altering scenes to make it a bit more compatible with the rest of the 'Differently Similar' verse as some minor things no longer fitted as well. I'm also hoping that it'll end up a much better story as a whole because my writing has gotten better since I wrote it originally. I hope you enjoy the chapter and the rewrite of this story.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of How to Train Your Dragon.**_

* * *

 **Stranded**

Snotlout woke to an unwanted throbbing in his head. As he groggily got up from his unusual face-down position on the ground he slowly took stock of his surroundings and discovered that he wasn't entirely sure where he was. The surrounding greenery and forest a few meters away didn't give many clues to answer that particular question and there was little in the way of unique landmarks to help him. He tried hard to remember how he'd got here and as his foggy mind slowly cleared it came back to him.

* * *

It was because Hiccup had decided that Snotlout needed to learn how to control Toothless' artificial tailfin, his older cousin had been wanting to do this for a while now because although Snotlout theoretically knew how to do it he'd never actually done it before. Today had been the only free day for some time where they could focus on this without worrying about other Academy business, the other Riders had been called away to other duties that day freeing them both up for a whole day.

At first Snotlout'd had difficulty even getting Toothless in the air and it took several attempts resulting in several bruises, when they were in the air they'd then kept disagreeing on which direction they should go and it wasn't until Toothless smacked him in the face with one of his ears flaps that Snotlout finally decided to let the Night Fury steer and he'd just keep up. From there things went quite well and he was starting to really get the hang of the fin so he, Toothless, Hiccup and Hookfang had gone for a long flight out over the sea and surrounding isles, Hookfang had behaved himself reasonably well with Hiccup as a rider but after awhile Snotlout could see his Nightmare getting sulky because he didn't have his normal rider and soon he was playing up.

He did this in a variety of ways like suddenly jerking his head to shake Hiccup about or breaking into sudden barrel rolls and one time he even briefly flared up his fire coat. Hiccup dealt with each of these occurrences quite well but Snotlout could see that Hookfang wasn't going to calm anytime soon. The Nightmare had woken up in a bad mood that day and Snotlout had a feeling it was because they'd been doing a lot of training in flying other dragons recently. Hookfang was very picky about who got to ride him and he didn't like it when Snotlout rode another dragon with a couple of exceptions, Toothless was one of those but after having several days of different riders on his back while his rider was on another dragon he was not happy to go through another day without Snotlout as a rider. The boy wasn't quite sure if that was because the Nightmare was really protective and didn't trust the other dragons with his safety or because the dragon felt jealous when he rode another dragon or even a mix of both, of course it could just be that Nightmares were very picky about their riders full stop and they didn't like them flying any other dragon. Either way it was an aspect of Hookfang's character which Snotlout had to keep an eye on and he knew it wouldn't be long before the Nightmare got completely fed up.

He was about to suggest they switch back in an attempt to stop the dragon's impending tantrum when Hookfang finally let out an irritable roar and fired a stream of flame into the forest on the large island below them. There was another roar from below and a Typhoomerang exploded from the forest Hookfang had hit. What followed was a frantic flurry as they tried to deal with an angry dragon that was considerably larger than their own, at some point Snotlout and Toothless had been caught in a massive wind blast from the Typhoomerang's wings and they'd tumbled towards the island below.

* * *

Rubbing his aching head Snotlout began looking for any sign of Toothless who must have landed somewhere near him. He turned and was suddenly nose to nose with the Night Fury and he fell back in surprise, "WAH! TOOTHLESS!" he quickly got back up and brushed himself down, "I mean I knew you were there all the time just not that close."

The dragon simply rolled his eyes as Snotlout realised that some extremely important things were missing, namely Hiccup, Hookfang and an irate Typhoomerang. He looked up and saw that the sky was completely clear of all three and there was no sign of any of them in the surrounding area, "Where do you think the others have gone?"

Toothless shrugged in reply but looked around hopefully in case Hiccup had magically appeared and Snotlout moved determinedly, "Well let's go find them then."

He made to get onto the dragon's back but stopped when the Night Fury brought his tail round and showed it to him, it was currently missing the artificial fin and the connecting parts were broken, this meant no flight and Snotlout stared at the usless remains, "So now what do we do?"

Toothless seemed to be just as clueless as he was and Snotlout looked at the darkening sky anxiously, ""We should probably find somewhere to shelter for the night."

The dragon grunted in agreement and followed him as he headed for the tree line in the hope of finding a campsite.

* * *

Toothless had proven to be invaluable that night since Snotlout lacked both supplies and tools.

The teen had managed to gather enough wood for the fire that the dragon lit and then the Night Fury caught several fish from a nearby stream, even without flight, and shared them. Thankfully he presented Snotlout's share to him un-regurgitated and he cooked it over the fire. With the meal done Snotlout sat in silence while Toothless settled down on the other side of the fire, with the boy occasionally looking up at the sky hopefully in case Hiccup and Hookfang materialised. Each time he was disappointed and he wondered why Hiccup hadn't found them yet, he must have realised what had happened by now and it wasn't like Hiccup to leave anyone unaccounted for and especially not him and Toothless. He hoped that he was looking but just hadn't found them yet for some reason and that something hadn't happened to them.

He was brought out from his thoughts when he felt Toothless suddenly curl around him and he smiled at the Night Fury, "Thanks Toothless."

The dragon rumbled in response and the boy leaned back against Toothless' warm side feeling sleep call him as the Night Fury covered him with one of his wings to form a small shelter and he was soon off into the realm of dreams.

* * *

He woke at dawn curled on the ground near the now dead fire to a spectacular sunrise and no sign of Toothless. He quickly sat up and looked around but there was no sign of the dragon anywhere and he tried calling him, "Toothless?"

There was no answer and he got to his feet peering into the trees around the camp trying to spot the Night Fury but he couldn't. He started to make his way towards the stream nearby thinking that maybe Toothless had gone hunting for fish but there was no sign of the dragon there either. He looked around uneasily feeling very vulnerable now that the dragon was no where in sight leaving him with only a dagger for defence. He returned to where they'd slept the night before calling as he went, "Toothless. Toothless."

There was still no answer or evidence of the Night Fury and he began to actually feel scared, "Toothless!"

"Lost someone?"

Snotlout whirled around and then involuntarily gulped at the sight he saw before him.

There stood a whole band of Berserkers with their leader grinning at him manically.

* * *

 _ **PS-So there is chapter one with a couple of minor additions. Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	2. Taken

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to the second chapter of this fic. It's been extended slightly and has been slightly altered. Thank you those who are supporting this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Taken**

There were six Berserkers besides the leader and all of them were heavily armed.

Snotlout's first thought was to attack but then he remembered the lesson that Gobber, his uncle and even Hiccup had hammered into him which was to know when to fight and when to retreat. Seeing as he was outnumbered and severely under armed, Snotlout was pretty sure he could just run away and keep his Viking pride intact. With this in mind he quickly did an about turn and sprinted off.

"You're not getting away boy!"

Snotlout ignored the leader's shout and pounded on, he could hear them pursuing him and he tried to lose them by darting between the trees and through thicker undergrowth. He was about to scream for Toothless when something large cannoned into him from the side bringing him down. He struggled desperately but he was pinned face down by a pair of beefy arms and could barely move, the man holding him snarled in frustration, "Stop struggling, yer not going anywhere."

There was the sound of more people approaching and Snotlout managed to lift his head to see the gang that had been chasing him approach. Taking advantage, the man on top of him clapped a hefty hand over the boy's mouth muffling the teen's cries.

Their leader grinned down at him, "I told you that you weren't getting away."

One of the others spoke up, "What'll we do with 'im?"

"See if he's got anything valuable then do away with him." another answered swinging his axe experimentally as he did so.

"He aint got anything on 'im. We should take 'im as a slave." The one holding Snotlout suggested.

One of the slightly smaller ones had been studying him curiously and then suddenly spoke out, "Hang on! He's one of Berk's Dragon Riders!"

The leader sharply looked at the one who'd spoken, "You sure?"

The guy nodded, "Aye, I've seen him before with the other brats on their dragons."

The leader quickly began giving orders, "In that case his dragon won't be far away, gag him so he can't call it and let's get him to Dagur before it comes looking for him."

The Berserkers swarmed him and despite Snotlout's struggles his hands, feet and torso were soon tightly bound and a thick cloth was shoved between his teeth and tied in place, however they weren't done and Snotlout was about to endure something he really didn't want to. One of them carted over something and it took Snotlout a moment to realise it was a large empty sack, the leader smirked at him evilly, "Just something to help transport you to the ship."

Snotlout barely had time to react to this before he was lifted up and unceremoniously stuffed into the sack, he landed uncomfortably at the bottom and instantly everything went dark as the top was tied shut. There was muffled noises and everything shifted as someone hauled the sack up and he felt himself being tossed around as it was thrown over what was likely a man's shoulder. The sack bounced regularly as whoever was carrying him moved at what felt like a run and the journey seemed to go on forever.

Eventually he caught more sounds from outside and suddenly the constant bouncing motion slowed and stopped. It lasted a moment before he found his sack landing hard on what felt like a wooden floor no doubt leaving him with several bruises. He wriggled around and gave some shouts which were muffled by his gag but stopped at a sudden, hard pain from someone kicking him from outside his stuffy prison. Getting the message he lay still and listened. There were shouts and thuds from outside and then the low sound of a horn being blown, more shouts and thuds accompanied by barked orders and then a lurch as whatever ship he was on began moving.

Filled with fear, Snotlout lay where he was miserably.

It didn't take a genius to work out that being bound, gagged and imprisoned in a sack rendered him helpless and with his captors being Berserkers it was clear they were taking him to Dagur. That was the last person Snotlout wanted to be a prisoner of (not that he wanted to be a prisoner of anyone) and he didn't really want to consider what the deranged chief would do with a Berkian hostage. On top of that Toothless would now be stranded on the island and Hiccup and the others would have no idea where he was leaving him with little chance of rescue.

Things were looking pretty bleak.

* * *

Unknown to Snotlout things weren't as bleak as he thought and Toothless was far from stuck on the island.

The Night Fury had woken before the teen when he'd picked up an unusual scent so he'd quietly left the boy to investigate and discover if the source of this scent was a danger to the Viking boy in his care.

The dragon moved stealthily through the forest with his senses perfectly tuned to the environment around him as he made his way towards the new smell. As he approached he soon identified the smell as human and that there were several of them but he didn't recognise them as anyone he knew. Keeping hidden in the shadows he observed the group of strangers as they progressed through the forest. All of Toothless' instincts were telling him that these men were a threat and he realised that he needed to return to the defenceless Snotlout in order to protect him.

Moving as quickly as he could while remaining undetected Toothless returned to the clearing he'd left earlier only to find that the young one was gone. He instantly took in the smells around him and quickly picked up the boy's scent, he also picked up the scents of a different group of humans who seemed to come from the same place as the one he'd seen earlier. He quickly began tracking the scents hoping to reach the teen before the other humans did; he soon came to a place where the scents were stronger indicating that they'd stopped there for a short while. Then the boy's scent vanished from the ground and Toothless couldn't find it anymore. Deciding the other humans must have the boy he began following their scent trail instead with the intention of catching up as soon as possible. The dragon picked up the pace even as he heard a strange bellowing sound coming from the direction his quarry seemed to have gone, he only just managed to stop before he exploded out onto a beach and he remained hidden in the tree line. He could see two of the floating masses of logs he remembered his Hiccup calling 'ships' but he couldn't see Snotlout anywhere. His instincts however were telling him that the boy was on one of them so he'd have to find a way aboard.

The two boats began moving off and Toothless knew that if they got any further out into the water he'd be unable to follow. Using some nicely positioned rocks he quickly approached the closest ship undetected, at the perfect moment he launched himself onto the boat's side, scrambled over onto the deck and dived under a handy cover before anyone realised he was there. As he crouched down in his hiding place he kept close attention to his surroundings in case he ran the risk of being discovered and to see if he could find out where Snotlout was.

It seemed he wasn't on the same ship as the boy but it seemed that both ships were heading the same way so he'd be able to find the teen sooner or later. He wasn't happy about leaving the island behind and going somewhere that Hiccup might not find him but Snotlout needed him right now so he'd stay as close to the boy as he could and hope that Hiccup found them both soon.

* * *

 _ **PS-Snotlout's not having a good time right now is he? Please let me know what you thought and I'll hopefully update soon..**_


	3. Separation and Search

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to chapter three. There's not many changes in this one from the original but I think it was okay as it was. This time we see what happened to Hiccup and the other riders make their entrance. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of How to Train Your Dragon.**_

* * *

 **Separation and Search**

Hiccup hadn't even realised that Snotlout and Toothless had gone down.

The Typhoomerang had actually forced him and Hookfang to retreat out to sea and it pursued them with a single-minded determination. This meant he hadn't seen his cousin and dragon crash on the island he'd left behind and he thought the other boy was following them.

Hiccup expected the angry dragon to eventually give up but it was determined to catch the Nightmare which had fire blasted it. The chase continued with the pair occasionally avoiding a fire jet from their foe and Hiccup could see and feel Hookfang tiring as the day wore on, he knew they had to come up with a way to deal with the Typhoomerang soon or Hookfang would simply fall out of the sky from exhaustion. He then realised that Snotlout and Toothless hadn't caught up to them yet and he looked back to see if they were behind them but they only thing there was the other dragon. Hiccup frantically turned his head from side to side searching for his cousin and friend but there was no sign of them. Another jet of flame from the Typhoomerang forced him to refocus on their current problem. Hookfang was now panting and would have to stop soon so Hiccup desperately scanned the sea below.

Like a miracle he spotted a large sea stack with a small cave in its side, its entrance was small with a sort of natural fire barrier in front of it being formed by the surrounding stone. It was too small for the Typhoomerang but Hookfang could fit through it though it would be an exceptionally close fit, Hiccup leaned closer towards the Nightmare beneath him and muttered quietly, "Okay Hookfang I need you to trust me."

He got a grunt of agreement from the dragon so he guided him towards the cave mouth, Hookfang soon cottoned on to Hiccup's plan and used the last of his strength to power himself towards their target. Hiccup flattened himself as much as he could against the Nightmare's neck and braced himself.

They rapidly approached the small entrance and with one last mighty beat of his wings Hookfang threw himself towards it, quickly wrapping his wings around himself as tightly as he could at the last second. The momentum carried them through the gap with inches to spare and they landed hard on the cave floor as the Typhoomerang roared in frustration. There was a scrabbling sound as the larger dragon tried to cling onto the stone wall around their safe haven only to slip down the smooth rock. The dragon gave another roar and fired several shots at the rock but they did little to the cave's defences, the Typhoomerang couldn't get into a decent position to fire directly into the small gap and it circled the entrance for awhile before flying up and settling on top of the sea stack to wait for its quarry to appear.

Inside the cave Hiccup dismounted from Hookfang's neck feeling relieved that he had managed to hold on during the rough landing. The Nightmare awkwardly turned in the small space and Hiccup patted the dragon's head, "You did great Hookfang! Now we just have to wait until he goes away."

His cousin's dragon snorted in response and Hiccup sat on the stone floor as his companion managed to curl around him. He absently stroked the Nightmare's neck as he wondered what had happened to Snotlout and Toothless, it wasn't like either of them to abandon him and he was worried about what would have stopped them following them. As far as he knew they were with them when the Typhoomerang first appeared but he couldn't remember them being with them while it chased him and Hookfang, maybe they had somehow been separated and decided to head to Berk for back up. Hiccup hoped that was the case but he had a gnawing feeling that it wasn't.

* * *

Soon night had fallen and they were still stuck in their hidey-hole.

At about midnight Hiccup decided to see if the Typhoomerang was still there and Hookfang tentatively poked his head out into the open. He rapidly withdrew it when a blast of fire announced that their foe was still there and still watching and the pair prepared for another long wait. Eventually they both gave into tiredness and drifted off to sleep until a huge ruckus woke them.

* * *

Hiccup sat bolt upright and his sleep-befuddled brain eventually registered the sounds or roaring and fire blasts outside. Hookfang was on the alert and growling softly at the entrance, the light coming in from it indicated that it was morning and suddenly there was silence from outside. The pair listened carefully and a soft scrabbling sound alerted them to something trying to enter their cave, Hookfang placed one wing in front of Hiccup protectively and prepared to fight the intruder. Suddenly there was a yelp followed by a thunk as something tumbled into a cave.

"I'm okay!"

Hiccup recognised the voice and called out happily, "Fishlegs!"

"Hiccup?"

He hurried over to help the other teen up as Meatlug went the way of her rider and tumbled in as well narrowly avoiding landing on them. "How did you find us?" Hiccup asked as he hauled his friend up.

"It was more luck than anything else." Fishlegs answered, "When you guys didn't arrive home last night your father sent us out to find you. We just happened to pass here on our way to search the next island when a Typhoomerang attacked us. After we chased it off Meatlug became really determined to look in this cave, I guess she picked up your scent because I've been training her to track things."

"Fishlegs are you okay?" Astrid's voice came floating in from outside.

Hiccup answered, "We're good Astrid."

"Is that you Hiccup?"

"Yeah, just hang on and we'll be out in a minute."

* * *

Soon they were outside and perched on top of the sea stack and Hiccup was concerned to see that someone was still missing, "Isn't Snotlout and Toothless with you guys."

Astrid looked at him in confusion, "We thought they were with you." She stared at Hiccup's current dragon, "Why are you riding Hookfang?"

"We swapped dragons for the day yesterday."

Tuffnut cut in, "That's an awesome idea!" He looked at Ruffnut, "Hey sis maybe we should swap dragons as well!"

She answered, "Yeah that would be so cool!"

Hiccup sighed, "Guys you both ride the same dragon."

"That's what you think." Tuffnut declared, "How do you know that Barf and Belch are the same dragon?"

"Yeah." His sister agreed, "How do you know?"

Hiccup shook his head and turned back to Astrid and Fishlegs, "If Snotlout and Toothless are still missing then we need to find them."

Without any more words he took off on Hookfang and the others were quick to follow. Soon they were back in the air and heading towards where Hiccup and Snotlout had been attacked by the Typhoomerang the day before, as they flew Hiccup related to the others what had happened, "…and me and Hookfang were stuck in that cave until you guys chased the Typhoomerang off."

Astrid frowned in concern, "So why do you think Snotlout and Toothless didn't follow you?"

"Can't say for certain but I can think of one likely reason."

"You think Toothless' tailfin is damaged?"

"It's the most likely reason; I just hope that if it that's what happened they landed on the island safely."

"I'm sure they're fine Hiccup." Astrid said reassuringly.

"Yeah, I'm sure they are." Hiccup answered not sounding convinced.

* * *

Eventually they reached the island and Hiccup quickly ordered the other teens to spread out and search for any sign of Snotlout and Toothless. He took one third, Astrid took the second and Fishlegs and the twins took the final section.

He flew low over the island scanning for anything that might tell him where his cousin and friend were and as his search took him over a large patch of open land something caught his eye and he quickly got Hookfang to land nearby, he ran over to what he spotted eager to know what it was.

It was Toothless' tailfin.

The canvas was largely intact but the metal supports were snapped, further more the straps used to bind it to Toothless' tail were also broken making it a major repair job. The fin confirmed Hiccup's suspicions but it didn't alleviate Hiccup's worry. He tried to boost his confidence by telling himself that if the fin was here then Snotlout and Toothless couldn't be far away and one of the others would find them. The sound of flapping wings caught his attention and he saw the other riders landing, "Found anything?"

Astrid answered him as she dismounted Stormfly, "Found several campsites in the forest but there's no way of knowing who built them."

Fishlegs reported next, "Nothing on our part of the island I had Meatlug try and track them but she couldn't find anything. It was mostly rocky, unsheltered beaches so it's unlikely they stayed there overnight."

Astrid walked over to him, "What about you?"

Hiccup showed her the tailfin, "I found this so they must be somewhere on this island."

She took the fin and stared at it thoughtfully, "Maybe they found some other way off the island."

"Maybe." Hiccup took back the fin and thought for a minute before speaking commandingly, "Okay lets check those campsites Astrid saw there might be some clue there as to where they've gone."

He and Astrid quickly remounted their dragons and headed for the nearest campsite. When they got there Fishlegs immediately got Meatlug to search for a scent using Toothless' artificial fin while the others scoured the area looking for any indication as to who used it. When their search turned up nothing they moved onto the next one, and then the next one, and then the next one. It wasn't until they reached one near a stream did they find anything.

At first it seemed as fruitless as the others but Meatlug suddenly perked up and began excitedly running away from the site into the forest with Fishlegs calling to the others as he followed her, "Guys I think Meatlug's found something!"

Instantly the other pursued the dragon as she hurried through the trees with her nose to the ground like a sniffer dog. They charged on through the forest and onto a beach, it wasn't until she reached the sea that Meatlug stopped and then looked at her rider indicating that she'd lost the scent. While Fishlegs patted his dragon and congratulated her the others gazed out over the waters.

"So…now what?" Tuffnut asked.

"Uh duh…we head out to sea moron." Ruffnut answered.

As the twins began another one of their fights Hiccup looked at Astrid in confusion, "I don't understand. How did they manage to head out over the ocean if Toothless couldn't fly, they couldn't possibly have tried swimming?"

Astrid shrugged, "Maybe they built a raft or found an abandoned boat."

Hiccup shook his head, "Well I guess we have to continue the search out there."

He made to remount Hookfang but Astrid stopped him, "Hiccup it's nearly dark, we have to stop for the night."

Hiccup looked up and noticed that the sun was indeed setting he made to answer but Astrid pre-empted his protest, "You and Hookfang haven't eaten since yesterday and we wont find them in the middle of the ocean at night. We need to rest and continue tomorrow morning."

"But Astrid I…"

She placed a hand on his shoulder, "I know Hiccup but we need to make sure we're fit to help him. We're no use to either of them if we're exhausted and starving." Hiccup gazed out over the ocean worriedly and she squeezed his shoulder reassuringly, "They're both capable Hiccup so I'm sure they're fine. They're probably resting for the night as we speak and you know they won't let anything happen to each other without some form of resistance, we'll find them."

Hiccup still wanted to ignore her and press on but his sensible brain was telling him that she was right and after some thought he sighed, "Okay we'll stop here for tonight."

Astrid nodded her approval and then headed off to collect some food from the supplies they'd sensibly brought from Berk the previous day. Hiccup looked out to sea again and Hookfang nudged his hand and made a mournful sound, turning to the dragon he began to gently pet his snout, "I know Hookfang, I'm worried too but as Astrid said we'll find them, I promise."

The Nightmare rumbled sadly and looked out over the sea where his rider and fellow dragon had apparently gone.

* * *

 _ **PS-So Hiccup and the others are now searching the seas for their missing members. Please let me know what you thought and I hope to update soon.**_


	4. Voyage to Outcast Island

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here is chapter 4 of this story. It returns to Snotlout this time around and explains what is happening to him, no Toothless this time but our favourite dragon will appear in the next chapter. Thank you for your continued support and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Voyage to Outcast Island**

Hiccup was up with the dawn and set about rousing the others.

He woke Astrid first and although bleary-eyed she helped him wake the twins who both muttered incoherently on being woken and casually punched each other which seemed to get them wide awake. It took all of them to rouse Fishlegs and they had to keep prodding him to make sure he actually stayed awake while the twins set about making breakfast. They ate speedily and in silence until Hiccup, "Right guys let's head out."

Their progress was slow as they had to check every single possible island, islet or lump of rock that could possibly have Snotlout and Toothless on it. Furthermore they were unsure of the direction the pair had gone so they moved in a slowly increasing spiral around the island they'd started at meaning that they hadn't covered much outward distance by the time noon came.

* * *

At midday they touched down for a rest and lunch. As Fishlegs gorged himself on the edible berries around their rest site and the twins tried to belt each other with bush branches Astrid walked over to Hiccup who was sat further away from the group with Hookfang. The dragon looked so mournful that Astrid felt a stab of pity for him and she gave him a gentle scratch as she sat beside Hiccup, it did little to cheer the Nightmare up but he did give her a thankful growl.

Hiccup sighed and leaned back on the dragon behind him as Hookfang rumbled sadly. Astrid could see how worried he was and she fully understood why. Snotlout was effectively Hiccup's little brother and they'd only had each other for so long Hiccup didn't like it when Snotlout was in any potential danger. Plus it seemed that, like the older cousin, Snotlout had a tendency to get into trouble, especially taking into account things that had happened over the last few months. In his search for the Glacial Bloom several weeks ago Snotlout had been held captive by pirates for nearly a week and had almost died more than once, before that he'd spent time as a baby Monstrous Nightmare and several times he'd been captured or kidnapped by Alvin. In all honesty Astrid was as worried as Hiccup despite her reassuring words to him the night before, she kept telling herself that Toothless was with him so he should be safe but she couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't.

Sitting beside Hiccup she tried to reassure both him and herself, "They can't have gone far. I'm sure we'll find them before today is over."

Hiccup sighed again, "And what if we don't?"

She looked at him determinedly, "Then we keep looking tomorrow, and the day after, and the day after that, and the day after that. However long it takes we'll find them."

Hiccup managed a small smile, "Thanks Astrid."

She smiled back, "We're not in the business of giving up and neither is Snotlout, we'll find him."

He nodded then stood up briskly, "Okay guys its time to head out again."

He mounted Hookfang and the dragon eagerly took to the air and both dragon and rider hoped that Snotlout and Toothless were on the next island.

* * *

Snotlout squirmed uncomfortably in the small hold of the Berserker ship.

Shortly after they left the island he'd been lugged down there and unceremoniously tipped out of the sack onto the hard floor. While glad to be out of the stuffy sack he wasn't in a much better position especially since they'd also re-done his gag so now it consisted of a foul tasting cloth stuffed into his mouth with a second one tied over his lips to keep it in place, he'd tried yelling through it but it muffled him so well he doubted that even the Berserkers directly above him had heard. He wasn't sure how long he'd been down there as no one had come down but he could see daylight through tiny gaps in the deck above him so he guessed it was still the same day has he'd been captured. His stomach growled loudly telling him he hadn't eaten in a while but there was nothing he could do to satisfy it and he tried loosening his bonds again. They remained as firm as they had all the previous times he'd tried and he soon gave up and tried to get as comfortable as he could which was difficult when you were bound and gagged on the floor.

There was a thumping sound and he saw a couple of Berserkers descend into the hold and come towards him with one of them holding a piece of bread and a small cup. This man placed the items he was carrying in front of Snotlout and then roughly hauled the boy into a sitting position and began untying the gag. As soon as the cloth over his lips was removed Snotlout spat out the one in his mouth and flexed his jaw experimentally glad to get rid of it. He noticed that the second man had positioned himself by the stairway up to the deck and was no doubt there in case of an escape attempt.

The Berserker who'd removed Snotlout's gag unbound the boy's hands and loosened the ropes around his torso allowing Snotlout to bring his hands forward from where they'd been held behind him. The man then shoved the piece of bread into them giving a rough command as he did so, "Eat it quickly."

Snotlout did as commanded while both men watched him carefully, when he'd finished the Berserker then thrust the cup, which was filled with water, at him and the teen didn't wait to be told before he gulped its contents down. As soon as he was done the man grabbed the cup from him and proceeded to re-bind him, knowing that resisting was stupid Snotlout sat silently as he did so and it wasn't until he made to re-gag him that the teen spoke, "You don't need to do that, I promise to stay quiet."

Snotlout was actually being very honest about staying quiet, he'd happily have promised to stay completely silent if it meant they wouldn't re-gag him. The cloth that'd been shoved in his mouth tasted horrible and it had been really uncomfortable having the gag on for so long. Unfortunately the Berserker simply smirked maliciously, "Sorry kid, but we've been ordered to make sure ye can't escape or call for 'elp."

He forcefully stuffed another, thick, foul-tasting cloth into the teen's mouth and then shoved another one between his teeth and tied it round the back of Snotlout's head to hold it in place. This seemingly wasn't enough and he tightly tied a third one over the teen's lips as before furthering securing the gag and making it muffle Snotlout even more. The Berserker called back to his crony by the stairs, "Do ye think the kid's secure enough?"

The other Berserker looked thoughtful with his eyes gleaming maliciously, "I'm not sure, we should tie him to something just to make sure 'e can't go anywhere."

The first one's grin grew wider, "Yer right, we've got to be careful with these dragon riders."

The ship's mast actually ran through the deck into the hold and the Berserker dragged Snotlout over to it and viciously shoved the boy's back against it. Producing a good amount of rope the man began quickly and skilfully wrapping it around Snotlout's body and the mast tying it tightly and securely, he used some more to bind the teen's legs above and below his knees adding to the bonds around his ankles. The man checked over his handiwork and tugged the bonds experimentally, after tightening a few a little more he nodded in satisfaction and began to gather up the empty plate and cup, "I think that'll do ye kid, don't ye agree?"

Snotlout gave a barely audible 'mmf' in response and both Berserkers smirked at the noise before they ascended up to the deck again leaving him alone once more. As soon as they were gone Snotlout attempted to squirm in his bonds only to find them even more unescapable than before. He could barely move his upper body because of the way it was bound to the mast and there was no way he was going to loosen any of the ropes on his own.

He closed his eyes in defeat knowing that, for the moment, he could only hope for rescue.

* * *

Time passed only marked by the hold becoming pitch black at night and the appearance of the two Berserkers who gave him a small amount of food and water each day.

Snotlout quickly learned to remain silent when they appeared, saying anything simply resulted in them retying his bonds and gag tighter. The two of them seemed to get some sort of enjoyment out of binding him and they were very skilled at it meaning there was no way he'd ever escape on his own. Of course they didn't tell him very much themselves so he had no idea what they were planning or how long they had to go of the voyage, all he could do was sit miserably in the hold hoping that someone would rescue him soon.

About three days after he'd first been captured (by Snotlout's reckoning) they finally arrived at their destination.

The Berserker who brought him his food came into the hold and Snotlout was surprised to see him without food for him. Wordlessly the man untied the ropes holding the teen to the mast but left all the ones binding his body and then the second man appeared holding a very familiar sack. Upon seeing it Snotlout gave a greatly muffled cry and tried struggling, desperate to not be shoved into the sack again. The first man simply growled in annoyance and lugged the boy bodily over and tossed him into the waiting sack. In moments the sack was tied shut trapping Snotlout in its dark interior as it was thrown over someone's shoulder and they carried him away.

The bumping journey was shorter than the one on the island and soon Snotlout just about heard the voice of the man leading the Berserkers that had captured him, "Sir! We've returned from our hunting mission and we've caught something you might be interested in."

Suddenly everything tumbled about and the teen fell into the bright world of daylight as he was tipped out of the sack to the sound of the man's voice, "We've managed to capture one of Berk's Dragon Riders."

Blinking in the bright light Snotlout looked up from his awkward position on the floor and stared directly into the face of Dagur the Deranged.

* * *

 _ **PS-So that's chapter four done and Toothless will be the star next time. Please let me know what you thought and I'll try to update soon.**_


	5. A Plan Conceived and a Hunt Begins

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter. This chapter contains Toothless (as promised) and Dagur who I must confess I find quite fun to write. As always I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **A Plan Conceived and a Hunt Begins.**

Dagur grinned manically and despite himself Snotlout cringed away from him.

The Berserker chief crouched down and eyed him as he spoke, "I remember you. You're Stoick's nephew or something aren't you?" he then straightened and paced thoughtfully, "What was your name? Snotbrat… Spinelout...Doesn't matter." He casually stepped over Snotlout as he addressed the leader, "Well done. I now won't disembowel you for not bringing a full hold of food from your hunting mission. Now get back out there and find more supplies!"

"Yes sir." The man hastily answered and retreated out of the arena.

As the man left Dagur returned his attention to his captive and stared down at him musing out loud as he did so, "Now what to do now that I've got you? I could torture you for information, ooh that would be fun, or I could try and force you to train some of my dragons…nah that might give you a greater chance of escape. Alternatively I could always kill you slowly and painfully and send your body back to Berk as a statement…but that doesn't really help me in the long run…" He then clapped his hands with glee and his manic grin returned, "Oh I know!" He looked at Snotlout excitedly, "I'll use you as leverage to get Stoick here. I'll send a message telling him you're my prisoner and if he doesn't come to Outcast Island then I'll chop you up piece by piece and feed you to the fish. He'll then be all 'I must save my nephew!' and come to rescue you at which point I'll slaughter him. Then Hiccup will be like 'Oh no my father is dead!' and as he and his tribe are torn with grief I'll strike Berk and take it, Hiccup's Night Fury and all its dragons once and for all!"

As Dagur's finished his declaration he burst into deranged laughter and Savage was quick to congratulate his plan, "An excellent plan sir. Perhaps we should send the message right away?"

Dagur instantly stopped laughing and looked deadly serious, "Yes we should. Now what should we send with it to prove we have him?" He eyed Snotlout who began to feel really uneasy as the Berserker continued, "Maybe some fingers or perhaps a leg…or maybe we should just go for a hand or one of his eyes."

"Perhaps we should just send his helmet sir."

Never had Snotlout been so glad that Savage existed than he did then. Especially when Dagur sighed in disappointment, "Well maybe that is better…the blood would destroy the message otherwise."

Snotlout mentally sighed with relief as Savage plucked off his helmet (which had somehow stayed on his head throughout his ordeal) and handed it over to Dagur asking as he did so, "What shall we do with the boy sir?"

The Berserker chief was already composing his message to Stoick and he waved him away distractedly, "Put him in one of the spare cells. We'll need him for when Stoick gets here."

Savage pointed at one of the nearby men and he heaved the bound Snotlout over his shoulder and easily carried him away. They'd actually been in the Outcast's replica of Berk's Dragon Training arena and Snotlout was carried out of it and through the Outcast/Berserker camp towards the caves that held the cells. Outcasts and Berserkers stared as he was taken past them and many openly smirked at him, others simply carried on with whatever they were doing while a few leered at him in a way that made him very uncomfortable and scared.

The man took him into the cave system beneath the island and threw him bodily into an empty cell; Snotlout landed heavily on the floor, adding to his growing collection of bruises, and heard the door clang shut behind him. He struggled to sit up in order to look around as all his tight bindings and gag were still in place; he idly wondered if he should consider it to mean that he was considered such a threat that a cell alone wouldn't hold him but he decided it was more likely because they couldn't be bothered to untie him. Eventually he managed to get into a sitting position and looked around his cell. It was quite large but that wasn't much good to him if he couldn't move about anyway and there was little else in it apart from stone walls and floor, there were some large iron rings embedded in the back wall but he decided that he would prefer not knowing how they could be used.

He fell back and lay on the floor, which was slightly more comfortable then sitting up, and stared at the ceiling. Though Dagur's plan worried him it also gave him a glimmer of hope, if Dagur told his uncle that he'd kiddnapped him then his chances of rescue were much higher because Stoick would then know where they were holding him. Of course Dagur most likely wanted the chief to make a rescue attempt and would plan for it but his uncle had faced greater odds before and still won so he could do the same again.

He held onto that thought instead of considering the alternatives.

* * *

Toothless had spent an uncomfortable few days in his tiny hiding place on the other ship. Fortunately he could go far longer without food or water than a human and there had been one or two opportunities for him to snatch some sustenance and remain undetected.

Apart from these moments the rest of the voyage had remained uneventful and the people around him had shown little interest in the cover he was hiding under. When they finally arrived Toothless recognised the scent of Outcast Island straight away and he knew he needed to get Snotlout away from here as soon as possible. As he heard people bustle around him Toothless carefully made his move.

Cautiously sliding out from under the cover he used his senses to pinpoint the positioning of the humans around him, the nearest was disembarking the other ship carrying a sack of some kind as he followed a group of men. None of the people he could see or smell were Snotlout so Toothless decided to play it safe and stealthily nipped over the side and disappeared into the sea. He swam below the surface as far as he could go and managed to make his way around an outcrop of rocks unnoticed and sneak onto the beach. From there he quickly bounded into the maze of rock that formed a large part of the island and away from enemy eyes.

From there he began to familiarise himself with the area and was careful to not encroach upon the native dragon's territories much. Dragons were actually fairly tolerant of other dragons and would often be quite happy in large groups; however they did have small areas which were theirs. In the case of Berk's dragons the home of their respective rider was theirs as well as their pen in the arena, for Toothless Hiccup's house was his but since Snotlout also lived there Hookfang used it as well but the Nightmare did respectfully kept his distance from it if his rider wasn't present. Other dragons could pass through the territory of another but they could not remain without permission, again this rule was slightly bent on Berk if the visiting dragon had their rider with them who was there for a valid reason. This meant that Toothless could pass fairly easily through territories of the rider less dragons but they did keep a suspicious eye on him while he was present.

Eventually he came across a suitable cave near the territory of the humans which was unclaimed and he set about making it his. With his territory claimed Toothless then began a tentative hunt for Snotlout in the human territory.

One of the first things he noticed was that there had been a major change since he'd last been on this island. All the signs indicated that a new alpha was now in command of the humans, the scents he caught on the wind showed a lot of unease and slight friction between the newer members of the pack and the ones that were here before. Also the scent of the previous alpha was still present but it was slowly being smothered by the newer one. He recognised it as the younger alpha that seemed to hate his Hiccup and had used the lightning dragon to attack them before and he was concerned by what this alpha wanted with his Hiccup's relative. Unfortunately the sheer number of human scents made locating the one he was after difficult and he was largely limited to hunting by sight and hearing.

After some time he had to give up his search in order to sate his body's need for nourishment and he headed for a quiet beach to catch some fish. Without flight it proved difficult but soon he managed to acquire a reasonable sized meal, he then moved on to one of the few pools of fresh water scattered across the island. A couple of the rider less dragons were there drinking as well but as long as he didn't bother them they wouldn't bother him, with thirst and hunger sated he resumed his hunt. He patrolled the edges of the human territory but found little to indicate where the teen he was seeking had gone and he realised he'd have to hunt further in. As such Toothless returned to his newly claimed cave and entered a light sleep to conserve his energy for a night time hunt into enemy's home.

* * *

 _ **PS-So there we go and I hope you liked that. Please let me know what you thought and I'll try to update soon.**_


	6. Answers for Some and Choices for Others

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to another chapter. This one sees the entry of Stoick and we once again join Hiccup and the others on their search. I hope you enjoy this chapter and please review and let me know what you thought.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Answers for Some and Choices for Others**

It had been five days since Stoick had last seen Hiccup and Snotlout and four since he'd received a message delivered by a Terrible Terror telling him that the academy members had found Hiccup but not Snotlout. Since then whenever a Terror appeared bearing a message he'd get his hopes up only to have them dashed when it turned out that they'd still found nothing. He'd also sent out and gone with several ships to scour the waters around Berk in case his nephew had somehow managed to make his way that close to home, unfortunately this had also proven fruitless and now some of the more negative members of the tribe were muttering that it was hopeless when they thought Stoick couldn't hear them. The chief had considered going to Dragon Island to get Thornado and fly out himself but the knowledge that it was likely that Toothless was with Snotlout had held him back from doing so. He was still greatly worried but he was certain that the Night Fury would keep a sharp eye on the boy as Snotlout was second to Hiccup when it came to Toothless' protectiveness. Though he continued his duties as chief as he was expected to his thoughts were never far from his nephew.

Even as a young child it was obvious that Snotlout was most definitely a Jorgenson. As the spitting image of his father it was clear he was going to be stocky and strong even if he was most likely going to be shorter than most. His lack of height was from his mother but the rest was certainly from his father though Stoick was unsure if his slightly more open mind was from his mother or from growing up with Hiccup. His stubbornness however was without a doubt inherited. Spitelout had often joked that the only things he and his sister Valka had shared was their dark hair and boar headedness and Stoick had been inclined to agree with his brother-in-law.

It had always been an errant thought in Stoick's mind that the boy who was technically his family and he'd taken in actually didn't have a single drop of blood that was related to his, in fact Hiccup and Snotlout were more blood family than Stoick and Snotlout were due to them both having a bit of Jorgenson in them. Though it never caused any problems for the chief and he wouldn't actually dream of treating his nephew as anything but family, he'd always found it to be odd to say that someone who was only connected to him through his wife, who happened to be the boy's aunt, was his family. Especially when he'd actually felt no real familial connection to Snotlout's actual parents, they'd been good friends and Stoick and Spitelout had often fought side by side as comrades but not family. Now he loved someone who actually had no blood connection to him as if he was his second son.

He was pulled from his thoughts by the rapidly approaching form of Gobber and from his serious expression he knew that he wouldn't like whatever it was his right hand man was going to tell him.

"Stoick! A messenger from Dagur just delivered this!"

He handed over the note in his hand and Stoick read it with a sinking heart. It was a demand from Dagur for him to go to Outcast Island or one of his own would suffer the consequences. Though no name was mentioned Stoick was certain who the message was referring to and his fears were only confirmed as Gobber held something else out to him, "This also came with it."

It was unmistakeably Snotlout's helmet.

* * *

Long, exhausting and despairing were good ways to explain the last few days for Hiccup.

They'd continued their search for Snotlout and Toothless and had scoured what felt like every island, sea stack or large rock in the world and had found nothing. Hiccup was fairly certain that the reason for the disappearance of his cousin and friend was the one that he feared and he'd since turned their search direction towards Outcast Island. He hoped that they would find them before they got there but it was now highly likely that the base of their enemy was the only possible place they could be found. Everyone, even the twins, was subdued as they continued their search and worry and sadness for their missing member was almost tangible in the air. Hookfang was now so despondent that no amount of scratches, petting, feeding or kind words would even temporarily cheer him up, the only time he seemed lively was when they were searching when he'd move with a steely determination. The other dragons had also been affected and they spent more time with their mournful friend than their riders whenever they were resting and they'd all sleep curled around the Nightmare through the night.

As they got closer to Outcast Island unease began to join the atmosphere of negative emotions around the group and Hiccup was already beginning to mentally plan a way to both locate and rescue his cousin from the island when Fishlegs suddenly spoke up, "Oh I've just thought of something!"

All the riders looked at the teen in confusion and he just sat there looking pleased until Astrid finally spoke to him, "You've just thought of what?"

Realising he hadn't actually explained his thought to them Fishlegs did so, "I was trying to think of places where Toothless and Snotlout could be when I remembered something my dad told me about this area. There's this island that appears to be nothing more than a blank stone mound but actually contains a huge cavern that is only accessible from the sea."

"How does this help us?" Hiccup asked.

"A water current runs from near the island we started at and winds through the islands until it eventually runs directly into the cavern. The entrance above sea level is too small for most ships to enter but if Snotlout and Toothless somehow found or built a tiny raft or boat they may have unintentionally been caught in the current and then carried into the cavern."

"So they might be stuck there?" Astrid cut in.

"Yes," Fishlegs answered, "Though not as strong as other currents it would still be too powerful for one boy and a dragon to fight against and there's no other way to leave the cavern, where the current runs in is the only exit from the island."

"Why didn't you mention this before now!?"

Fishlegs cringed at Astrid's angry tone and responded defensively, "I only just remembered it now. It was just something my dad mentioned years when telling me about the seas around Berk; I didn't think at the time that I'd actually need that piece of information."

Astrid looked to Hiccup, "Hiccup, if Snotlout and Toothless are there then they might well be in pretty bad shape by now if they didn't have sufficient food and water with them. We need to check this island out as soon as possible."

Hiccup could see Astrid's point but he was now certain that Snotlout and Toothless were on Outcast Island and he feared that by choosing to search this cavern he might be too late to save them. The flip side was that if they went to Outcast Island and they were in the cavern then they would be put in a very dangerous position. With the only other option being to continue their fruitless search of all the islands Hiccup found himself torn between searching Outcast Island or the cavern. Looking around the group he found that all of them, even the dragons, were looking to him to make the decision, not for the first time Hiccup felt a bit of what he was certain his father felt as chief and he wished that he didn't have to make this choice. There were several long moments where he weighed up the two options carefully considering each one until he finally came to a final decision.

"Show us the way to this island Fishlegs."

The other boy nodded before taking the lead and guiding them towards this island with its cavern. As they flew Hiccup desperately hoped that he was making the right choice.

* * *

 _ **PS-There we go and we'll probably be back with Toothless next chapter. Please tell me what you think of the family connections I've created and I'll hopefully update soon.**_


	7. Nightly Hunts and Dangerous Counter Plan

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here is the next chapter. This one once again has Toothless and Stoick but I'll have Snotlout in the next chapter as well as Hiccup and the others**_ _ **. Thank you for your continued support amd I hope you enjoy the chapter.  
**_

 _ **As always I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Nightly Hunts and Dangerous Counter Plans**

Toothless' night time hunts had been less than successful.

The human pack had proven to be far more alert than they had been before and their doubled numbers made moving through their territory undetected a major challenge. The weather was in his favour however since thick cloud was covering the moon and providing plenty of shadows for him to hide in, despite this his progress was still slow and he could find no trace of Snotlout's scent. All too soon dawn began to approach and he stealthily retreated back to his cave before the sun appeared over the horizon and he lost the cover of darkness.

He spent the daylight hours largely resting and feeding in order to prepare for another excursion that night and when darkness once again cloaked the island he set off into the territory of the enemy once more. As he moved deeper in he picked up a minute trace of the boy's scent and he followed it to its source. Its origin was a human who was definitely not the one he was looking for but he'd obviously been in brief contact with the young one recently. Noting this Toothless moved closer to him to memorise this man's scent planning to follow its trail to see where he'd been but this was foiled when he woke unexpectedly.

There was a brief moment where they both stared at each other until the human sprung into action yelling as he did so, "THERE'S A DRAGON IN THE CAMP!"

All around them humans woke and leapt to their feet while those on guard ran to the source of the commotion. Now discovered Toothless rapidly retreated with the shouts of the humans echoing behind him.

"WHERE DID IT GO?"

"WHAT KIND WAS IT?"

"HOW DID THE BEAST GET SO FAR IN?"

Darting from shadow to shadow the Night Fury managed to escape the area leaving confusion behind him as Outcasts and Berserkers ran hither and thither searching for him. He took a longer route back to his cave to throw off any pursuers and returned there confident that his hiding place would remain undiscovered. Knowing that he would be unable to resume his hunt that night he settled down and awaited the following evening to begin again.

Unfortunately the next night he couldn't even start searching since the humans had so many guards patrolling and checking every possible hiding place that Toothless wouldn't be able to get close without being spotted. Instead he searched for an alternate route in that was unguarded that he could use. He searched for much of the night and just as dawn was coming once more he located an old cave system that came out on a beach far from the human's territory. As far as the scents and his own sound waves could tell this cave was unused and potentially led underneath the human's territory and possibly up into it. Cautiously he entered the cave and pressed on into its depths.

* * *

As soon as he'd read Dagur's letter Stoick summoned a meeting in the Great Hall.

By the time they'd all gathered the chief had formed a beginning of a plan and he gazed gravely at the warriors assembled before him, "As you all know Snotlout and Toothless are missing and until now we didn't know what had happened to either of them. Just today I received a message from Dagur the Deranged who claims that he has Snotlout captive." There was a ripple of muttering and whispers from around the room and Stoick raised his voice slightly, "He has said that he will kill Snotlout unless I come alone to Outcast Island by sunset the day after tomorrow."

There was a clamour of voices and one of the Vikings managed to get his heard above the others, "It's obviously a trap Chief. There's no way Dagur will let you or the boy leave the Outcast Island alive!"

Many loudly agreed with the man and someone else put out their point, "But it if wasn't for Snotlout there might not be a Berk right now. He was the one who retrieved the Glacial Bloom and helped defend the village from pirates so we need to save him."

"Well let's go and storm Outcast Island and rescue him!" Another called out, "We can take on the Berserkers and Outcasts easily in a straight out fight. Dagur won't stand a chance!"

The Vikings began arguing loudly about what was the best thing to do forcing Stoick to raise his voice over the clamour, "ENOUGH! If I don't go then Snotlout will die! An all-out attack is out of the question since Dagur can kill Snotlout before we get to him. However I have a plan that might be enough to fool him."

At this many of the Vikings leaned forward eager to hear their chief's scheme as he outlined it, "While I attract the attention of most of Dagur's forces with my arrival from the side nearest Berk I want a team of our most skilled warriors and hunters to approach Outcast Island unseen from the opposite side. They'll hit Dagur's forces hard and fast and should catch them unawares. No doubt Dagur will have Snotlout close by when I arrive and the confusion caused by the ambush should enable me to grab Snotlout and retreat before either of us are killed, as soon as we're clear the ambush team should also retreat as quickly as possible."

From his position beside the chief Gobber voiced his concerns, "It's a risky plan Stoick for both you and Snotlout, are ye sure that it's the best option? Maybe we could get Hiccup and the other riders to provide additional support?"

Stoick shook his head, "We've no guarantee that any message we send them will reach them in time, our best option is to follow through with this plan and send them a message to call off the search. It's this or nothing as we have no time to come up with anything else, we need to all be in position ready before Dagur's deadline if this is going to work." He looked up at the warriors around him, "I will choose the ambush team myself and those I choose should be ready to leave by dawn tomorrow."

The rest of the day and much of the night was spent preparing for the dangerous mission as Stoick carefully chose his team and armed himself for his meeting with Dagur. Gobber had already sent off a Terrible Terror bearing a message to abandon the search to Hiccup and the others and the chief hoped it reached them before they did something reckless. As he packed some supplies for his journey the next day he found himself constantly looking at Snotlout's helmet which he'd kept a hold of ever since it arrived with Dagur's demands. He felt a stab of pain in his heart and he vowed that no matter what happened he'd make sure his nephew returned home safely.

Just before dawn the chosen Vikings for the ambush team gathered before Stoick at the docks and the chief gave them their last instructions, "Now you all know what you have to do but if things do not go as planned then your priority is to get Snotlout safely home no matter what happens to me. He is more important than I am."

They nodded solemnly in agreement and then boarded Berk's fastest ship and cast off, beginning their journey to the far side of Outcast Island. Stoick watched until their ship had vanished beyond the horizon before climbing into his own smaller vessel to follow. Provided things went well he would arrive just before sunset the next day and he hoped that his men would play their part in the risky plan he'd conceived.

* * *

 _ **PS-There we go and please let me know what you thought and if you enjoyed it.**_


	8. The Empty Cavern

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and I apologise for the long gap between this update and the last. This time we're back with Snotlout and Hiccup and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **The Empty Cavern**

Snotlout shuffled about a bit in a vain attempt to get more comfortable.

He'd seen different Outcasts and Berserkers walk past his cell and he assumed that they were guards, Savage had briefly come and looked in but he hadn't entered the cell or spoken to him and soon left, he'd even seen Mildew as the old man had shuffled past without sparing him a glance. The only people who'd actually entered the cell were the same two men from the ship who came with food and water, this had only happened three times and it worked the same way as it did on the ship with one loosening his bonds so he could eat while the other stood guard by the entrance.

Unfortunately that meant that escaping really wasn't an option for him. When they came to feed him they were careful when they loosened the bonds on his upper body, when they left they made sure that his bonds were too tight and secure for him to escape and they'd actually run some of the ropes through one of the iron rings at the back of the cell effectively tying him to the wall. All in all Snotlout couldn't do anything about his current position and he hated it.

Even when he'd been captured before there was always something he could try and do about it. The time he'd been taken by the pirates had been similar to this in the way they kept him subdued but with some help from the Terrible Terrors he had escaped. Other times he'd been rescued and when he'd been turned into a baby Monstrous Nightmare he'd actually been the one who'd enabled their escape the first time. Throughout his adventures with the other Academy Riders there'd never been a time where he'd been as helpless as this, he'd always been at least able to talk the other times but now he couldn't even do that. He kept trying to somehow loosen his bonds but every attempt was unsuccessful and several ended up with him bleeding as he rubbed his skin raw trying to escape. When he wasn't doing that he either slept (with difficulty) or just sat and let his mind wander.

His thoughts had largely been of Berk and he wondered what was happening back in the village. Had Hiccup and Hookfang made it back okay or were they searching for him somewhere? Had his uncle received Dagur's message yet and if he had what was he going to do? Was Toothless alright? These and several other questions floated around his mind but eventually his thoughts turned into memories.

He remembered when he was ten and he and Hiccup had gone on one of their night time adventures to the Cove. It had been a clear night when they left and they had made it to the Cove easily but suddenly the sky clouded over taking away the moonlight they'd been using to see causing the forest to become almost pitch black. They'd tried to find their way back but they lost their way in the darkness and they'd wandered around the dark forest hoping they would stumble on something that would point them in the direction of home. The more they wandered the more Snotlout's fear grew and he began to feel like the darkness was pressing in on him, he'd put a brave and confident face on but it was taking a lot of effort for him to keep it there. His façade was destroyed when something suddenly flew into the air right next to him cawing harshly, he'd let out a huge scream and had instinctively hugged Hiccup in fright. It was a while before he realised what he'd done and that he'd just shown how scared he was, he was expecting Hiccup to laugh or mock him in some way and quickly let go of him and looked away. His cousin then surprised him by taking the younger cousin by the hand and gently leading Snotlout on without making any comment on his un-Viking behaviour. They walked on in this way and Hiccup never complained or said a word when something would spook Snotlout causing him to tighten his grip on the slightly older cousin's hand. He didn't know how long they'd wandered through the woods but eventually when Snotlout actually felt like they would never find their way back a frantic Stoick crashed through the forest bearing a torch and searching for them. He soon caught sight of the two of them and hurried to them before managing to somehow pick them both up in a hug.

Snotlout never knew why that memory seemed to stick in his mind but he guessed that it was because it was one of the few times when Hiccup had seemed more like an older brother than a friend or cousin and his uncle had felt more like a father than a chief or guardian. He looked down sadly wishing that Hiccup was with him, his older cousin probably would've thought of a way to escape by now and though it was never said out loud Snotlout always felt a lot more reassured when Hiccup was around. He'd even have been happy with any of the other riders, Astrid likely would've also come up with a plan by now and Fishlegs might've done as well. The twins wouldn't have done but they would've certainly been good company and probably could've slipped the ropes and at least untied him.

He rested his head against the wall, his uncle would've come up with a plan of rescue the moment he received Dagur's letter and if there was one thing he knew it was that Stoick would do anything to keep him safe and get him home. It may look desperate and he may be entirely helpless but his uncle would come through, he always did.

The sound of someone opening his cell pulled him from his thoughts and he looked to see Dagur enter backed by Savage and three others. It was the first time he'd seen Dagur since he'd been brought to him when he arrived, by his reckoning, three days ago. The Berserker chief nodded to two of his men who then moved forward and undid the ropes holding Snotlout to the iron ring in the wall. One of them then hauled the boy's bound body over his shoulder and carried him out of the cell. The group marched out towards the docks unaware of a shadow following them.

* * *

Hiccup and the others were rapidly approaching the island that Fishlegs had told them about.

The knowledgeable teen had successfully navigated them to it and Hiccup had to admit that he found it hard to believe that the smooth sided lump of rock held anything of interest. It appeared to be nothing more than a mound rising out of the ocean with nothing growing on it or anywhere to land a boat but Fishlegs showed them a small cave right on sea level that would grant access. From their perch on some nearby rocks Astrid eyed the small opening doubtfully, "Are you sure that it leads to a cavern Fishlegs?"

The boy nodded, "Yes my dad has been in it and he says that it's massive."

"If the current runs into the only entrance how did he escape?"

He'd been on a lone fishing trip," Fishlegs explained, "and he'd been caught in the current which carried him in there, seriously damaging his boat as it did so. He thought he was stuck forever but luckily a passing ship had seen him go in and they came to help. What they did was attach a plank to a long rope which they then let the current carry into the cave after him while they attached the other end of the rope to the ship. They then got as many of the crew as possible to man the oars and rowed with all the might against the current thus pulling my dad out clinging to the plank."

"Oh I see."

Hiccup had been looking at the entrance thoughtfully when an idea suddenly came to mind, "Fishlegs, how well can Meatlug swim?"

"Really well, most Gronkles can't but I've been training her to do so and she's really gotten good at it." The older boy answered proudly.

"Well then I have an idea on how to get into that cavern." He pointed to the twins, "Ruff, Tuff, go back to that forested island we flew over last and see if you can find anything that might serve as a rope."

"Sure we can do that," Tuffnut answered, "but wouldn't it be easier to use the rope we already have?"

Hiccup frowned, "What rope?"

Ruffnut spoke, "The long coil that's in the saddle bags on Barf and Belch."

Astrid broke into the conversation the disbelief evident in her voice, "You guys actually thought to bring rope with you?"

"Yeah," Tuffnut replied, "we were planning to tie it round our waists then tie it to Barf and Belch and then jump off his back."

Ruffnut continued excitedly, "We'll then sky dive until the rope stopped us mid fall and swing us around beneath our dragon, it's gonna be amazing!"

"We call it 'The Sky Dive Dragon Swing of Awesomeness!" Tuffnut proclaimed, "It's gonna give us some serious rope burns!"

There was a moment where the other three teens just stared at the two twins before Hiccup shook his head, "Just get that rope out and we'll see if it'll work."

He then watched in amazement as the siblings pulled out a seemingly never-ending length of rope from the relatively small saddle bag and heaved it over to him between them. He gave it a brief look over before taking one end and walking over to Hookfang with it as he spoke to them, "This is what we're going to do."

* * *

Hiccup clung tightly to Meatlug as the sea current dragged them into the tiny cave mouth with very little room to spare and he shivered at the icy cold water. The light rapidly diminished as they were pulled further in and Hiccup began to wonder if there really was a cavern when he saw a dim glow ahead. The tiny tunnel suddenly widened dramatically and the water current seemed to simply vanish allowing Meatlug to swim easily over to a rocky shelf and clamber up. Hiccup gazed in awe at his surroundings temporarily distracted from his reason for being there.

The cavern was huge and Hiccup was certain that the Great Hall on Berk would only fill a part of the enormous space. The sea coming in made a sort of huge pool which was surrounded by a broad, flat rocky shelf with only the cavern entrance breaking the circling stone. A strange sort of glowing plant grew out of the walls and floor giving a dim, green light to the place allowing Hiccup to see.

Hiccup then remembered what he was here for and he began scanning the area calling as he did so, "Snotlout! Toothless!"

There was no answer and he got Meatlug to try and find Toothless' scent, she quickly began snuffling around the cavern and Hiccup hoped she'd find something. His hope diminished as more and more time passed without her finding something and eventually she had sniffed around every inch of the cavern and then looked to Hiccup and made a growling sound to indicate she'd found nothing. Hiccup's heart sank as he knew that if there was no scent then Toothless and Snotlout had never been here and all they'd done was waste time.

Knowing that speed was now crucial Hiccup quickly tugged the rope that connected him and Meatlug to the other dragons outside three times and soon he felt them being pulled back towards the tunnel. The journey back was almost twice as long as the journey in and he could feel the current trying to tug them back down the tunnel but with Meatlug's swim aided by the dragons pulling outside they continued on against it. As soon as they broke back out into daylight Meatlug got out of the current as quickly as she could and crawled wearily up onto the nearest rock to rest. Hookfang landed close by and soon curled around the soaked dragon and teen slightly warming his skin to help them dry. The other dragons also landed and they to lay down exhausted as their riders dismounted and ran over to Hiccup. Astrid hurried beside him and handed him a cloth to dry with asking as she did so, "Was there any sign of them?" Hiccup just shook his head and she briefly closed her eyes in disappointment before asking another question, "So what do we do now?"

Hiccup answered her determinedly, "As soon as the dragons are recovered we'll head straight for Outcast Island."

* * *

 _ **PS-So there we go and I hope you liked that. Apologies again for the long gap but I'll try and put up the next chapter quicker.**_


	9. Memory Voyage

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to Chapter 9. This one is the first of a double update. Its just Stoick and looks a bit at pre-first movie.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Memory Voyage**

The journey to Outcast Island was long and pensive for Stoick the Vast. The wind was with him as he travelled and there was little for him to do but make sure that the boat stayed on course which left him with plenty of time to think.

His thoughts largely remained on Snotlout as he relived different memories, both good and bad, of the boy. He noticed that many of them also included Hiccup and, excluding recent months, very little of the other teens. In fact now that he thought about it he realised it was very rare for either of them to have spent time with any of the others, of course as young kids they'd often been around others their age but he could see that things had changed when they were about five. This was when Spitelout and Helga had died and he took the orphaned Snotlout in, his nephew had closed himself off to others because of his grief and this had probably started to push them away. When he'd eventually started to return slowly to normal he'd grown very close to Hiccup and they became more like brothers than cousins, this only served to push the others away further as they had reached the stage where they were beginning to learn from their parents that Hiccup wasn't 'normal' so as they began to turn away from him they turned away from Snotlout to and Stoick felt a great deal of guilt as he saw that he'd been ignorant of his son and nephew's isolation from others at the time.

He looked out over the ocean as his mind wandered away from Snotlout's relationship with the other teens and onto the day the bodies of his brother-in-law and his wife returned to Berk on board Bucket and Mulch's fishing boat. He remembered it all vividly.

* * *

He'd actually been awaiting Bucket and Mulch to return as they had been overdue and had been one of the first at the docks when he saw the ship come in. He'd been looking after Snotlout since Spitelout and his wife had gone on a long hunting trip together around some of the other islands and he had his hands full with his duties as chief and two active five year olds to keep an eye on so he took them to the docks with him.

At first everything appeared to be fine but when he gave a cheery wave to the approaching vessel it wasn't returned. Instinct told him that something was wrong and a feeling of unease came over him, gesturing for Hiccup and Snotlout to stay back he went to meet the ship further up the docks alone. As soon as she was tied up he boarded and noticed that Bucket was pointedly looking away from one end of the ship while Mulch just looked at Stoick sadly and gestured to the stern where two bodies lay.

They were recognisably Snotlout's parents but their wounds were devastating. Massive axe cuts had opened their chests and it was obvious that they'd been struck by several weapons several times, their clothes were saturated with dried blood and their faces had been smashed by some blunt object which deformed their features. Spitelout's helmet was still on though it was caved in and one of its horns was snapped.

Hearing gasps from behind him Stoick turned to see Gobber and several other Vikings standing there staring at the bodies. Stoick ordered them to find some large cloths and some carriers to cover and move the bodies before quickly disembarking. As they hurried to do their task he noticed Snotlout sneaking forward trying to see what was going on and Stoick quickly intercepted him to prevent him from seeing the bodies of his parents. The boy grumbled in protest as he led him away and pulled a sulky expression when Stoick knelt down in front of him a serious look on his face.

"Snotlout, there's something you need to know."

At the tone of his voice Snotlout's pout rapidly turned to worry which only grew more intense when several Vikings ran past carrying the cloths and carriers. Stoick struggled not knowing exactly how to tell the five year old before what had happened and there was a stab of pain in his heart when Snotlout asked with all the worried innocence of a child, "Did I do something wrong Uncle?"

"No Snotlout," Stoick quickly answered, "you haven't done anything wrong." He heard Hiccup come up beside him and he wished that he didn't have to be the one to break the news to both of the boys, "You know how your parents went on a long hunting trip?" Snotlout nodded and Stoick continued, "And you remember how they weren't due back for a few days yet?"

Snotlout nodded again before his face suddenly lit up, "Are they back now? I knew daddy would be done far quicker than he thought!"

Stoick's heart ached at the look of mixed hope and pride on the boy's face knowing that he was about to devastate Snotlout with what he had to say.

"Stoick?"

He looked around at the voice to see Gobber standing there with several Vikings who were carrying the covered bodies behind him just as Snotlout spoke pointing at their burden, "What are those?"

A look passed between all the adults and Gobber quickly signalled the men to move on but as they began to hurry away something shifted and tumbled out from underneath one of the covers falling to the ground with a clatter. Before anyone could make a move Snotlout had picked it up and was staring at the battered helmet of his father, "This is daddy's helmet." He looked at the adults and Stoick could see him slowly working it out, "Why is daddy's helmet here, where is he?" When they didn't answer Snotlout spoke again with tears coming to his eyes, "Where is daddy?" He looked once more at the two covered bodies and Stoick knew that he'd realised what had happened. He hurried forward just in time to hold the boy back as he tried to run towards the bodies screaming as he did so, "DADDY, MUMMY!"

Stoick scooped the boy into his arms even as Snotlout began kicking and beating him with his fists the boy screaming and crying as he did so. Hiccup hugged his father's legs as Gobber and the other Vikings hurried away leaving them alone as Snotlout's screams became sobs as he buried his face into his uncle's chest.

* * *

The first glimpse of Outcast Island pulled him back to the present and he reckoned that it would be late afternoon before he reached it placing him well within Dagur's deadline. By the time he got there the Vikings in the other ship should be in position ready to spring the ambush and he hoped his plan would work. As the wind pushed him onwards he prepared himself for his part and prayed that it would all work out.

 _ **PS-So there we are and I hope you enjoyed that chapter even if it was more of a filler than anything else but we should get to the action next chapter.**_


	10. Dangerous Twists and a Hunt Continues

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the second chapter of a double update.**_ _ **This chapter contains a section with Gobber and we join Toothless once again so I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I do not own any aspect of How to Train Your Dragon.**_

* * *

 **Dangerous Twists and a Hunt Continues**

Gobber was silent as the Vikings around him quietly rowed their ship into a small secluded bay on Outcast Island.

They had been extremely cautious in their approach as they were well aware that secrecy was vital to their success and Gobber was thankful that the wind alongside the powerful rowers had allowed them to arrive the night before the second day of Dagur's deadline, well ahead of Stoick in his own vessel. The ship nosed into the beach and two men quickly disembarked and dragged the ship further up to prevent her from floating away on the tide. When she was secure Gobber also disembarked closely followed by the others and they assembled on the beach, most settled down for a short rest after their hard row while two scouts slipped off to find a suitable route to get to the Outcast settlement undetected. As some of the Vikings settled to sleep others stayed alert as watchmen and occasionally one or two would patrol the area to make sure they remained undiscovered. Gobber himself remained awake waiting for the scouts to report back as he tended to his axe attachment on his false hand.

Although he wouldn't actively look for a chance to fight like some Vikings he would admit to be looking forward to the upcoming strike on Dagur's men. It angered him to think that anyone calling themselves a Viking would resort to kidnapping and killing a defenceless boy in order to gain what they wanted and he was eager to show this band of low-life kidnappers exactly what happened when you threatened someone from Berk.

The scouts reappeared not long after dawn had broken and were quick to give Gobber their report, "South of here there is a narrow gully that runs pretty much into their base, if we use it we could get into the heart of their settlement almost undetected and we'd be ready in place for the ambush when the Chief arrives."

"And yer certain that the Outcasts don't know about it?" Gobber asked.

"There're no signs that they use it," the scout replied, "and we encountered no one as we investigated it thoroughly."

Satisfied Gobber began rousing the men and soon they were moving off for the gully that the scouts had found. They moved cautiously and took their time to ensure they remained hidden so much of the day had passed before they began to draw close to the Outcast base. There had been one or two near misses with the island's wild dragons but fortunately they managed to pass through without provoking any of them. As they grew closer to their goal Gobber began to mentally plan the positioning of his men for the upcoming ambush when a voice suddenly sounded from behind the party.

"Where do you think you Berkians are going?"

They spun to see a large group of Berserkers blocking the route back behind them and Gobber instantly turned back to see a group of Outcasts blocking their way forward. The leader of this group stepped forward and spoke mockingly, "Did you really think Dagur wouldn't guess that Stoick would try something like this?"

Gobber simply brought his axe hand into a fighting position and he knew his men were also readying themselves for a fight behind him. The Outcasts and Berserkers also readied themselves and there was a moment's pause as the two sides gauged each other...then the fight erupted.

* * *

Toothless was making slow progress through the cave systems beneath the island due to long winding routes and rock falls which had partially filled in the tunnels causing him to waste time squeezing through small gaps.

He had started to smell the familiar scents of torches and he assumed that he was reaching the sections the humans used and ensured his approach remained stealthy and unnoticed. A dim glow appeared ahead and he reached it to find that it was coming through a hole in the floor and he peered cautiously into it. It opened out where a lower torch-lit tunnel came to a dead end and it was currently clear of humans. Toothless carefully squeezed himself through the small opening and silently dropped into the lit tunnel, he halted and used both hearing and smell to check if anyone was nearby and satisfied that there wasn't he moved on.

He managed to avoid the humans and after a while he picked up the faint scent of Snotlout drifting through the tunnels alongside other human scents and he followed it, there were moments when he'd suddenly lose the scent as the others overpowered it but Toothless quickly found it again and resumed his hunt. He came to an area of the tunnels that smelled fresher than the others and instinct told him that he was near a surface entrance. Suddenly Snotlout's scent became stronger and he peered cautiously around the corner ahead of him.

There was a larger area where several tunnels met and in one wall several of those branches of metal that he remembered him and Hiccup being held by had been set. From the scent Toothless knew that Snotlout was behind them but before he could move towards them the sounds and scents of several others caused him to stay hidden.

A group of humans marched in from another tunnel led by the one Toothless recognised as the younger alpha that he and his Hiccup had tangled with before. As they approached the metal branches he thought about launching a surprise attack but some instinct made him hold back and watch them instead. They all entered the space behind the metal and shortly reappeared again with Snotlout being roughly carried over one of the human's shoulder. Toothless could see that the young one had been wrapped in the strange vines called ropes that humans used and was unable to move and he also spotted the cloth over the boy's mouth. He caught the faint whiff of blood and he noticed that Snotlout was bleeding from where the ropes were around his wrists and body. The dragon felt anger surge in him at this and once again he considered ambushing them and showing them the wrath of a Night Fury but that same odd instinct continued to hold him back. As the humans headed back up the tunnel they'd come he began to stealthily stalk them though he was hard pressed not to pounce on them whenever Snotlout gave muffled cries because the man carrying him jostled him too roughly.

Toothless wasn't as close to Snotlout as he was to Hiccup but he was his second favourite human and he was very protective of him. Of course Hookfang was usually the one keeping the boy safe but circumstances had rendered Toothless the only one available to do that and he had no desire to fail his duty. He knew that Hiccup would be devastated at the loss of his nest mate (he thought that was what Snotlout was but he still wasn't entirely sure) and in all honesty Toothless himself would sorely miss the boy if anything happened to him. Snotlout had already had too many near misses for his liking and this current predicament the boy was in was particularly bad. He could tell from the young one's scent that he was scared and frustrated and Toothless guessed it was because he'd never been in a situation where he was so unable to help himself. The Night Fury had felt very similar emotions when he'd been captured by Hiccup's tribe and forced to lead them to the nest after his fight with Hookfang and he wished that Snotlout hadn't been forced to experience something so similar.

The humans made their way upwards and came out of an exit in the middle of their territory and Toothless found it incredibly difficult to remain unseen. He used some of the jagged rocks which wound their way throughout the area to that end by following his targets from the top of them to keep them from noticing him. They eventually stopped in a large open space near where they'd built wooden platforms onto the sea and appeared to be waiting for something. Toothless looked out across the ocean and could see a small boat approaching and he assumed that was what they were waiting for. With the human's attention elsewhere he took the opportunity to get himself into a suitable position near to where Snotlout was being held.

Toothless knew from experience and what other dragons had taught him that some hunts relied on striking at precisely the right moment. This appeared to be one such hunt because if he acted at the wrong moment then it could harm the very young one he was trying to rescue; as such he crouched down ready to move at moments notice and awaited the perfect moment.

* * *

 _ **PS-So there we are and I hope you liked that and please let me know what you thought. Things should hopefully really kick off next chapter and I'll try to update soon.**_


	11. When Chieftains Meet

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and welcome to the next chapter of this story. We finally get to some action this time around and several of the elements of this chapter have undergone alterations from their original forms. Thank you everyone who is supporting this story and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **When Chieftains Meet**

As they carried him towards the beach Snotlout saw the Outcasts and Berserkers gathering by the docks and the small ship that was approaching.

Dagur was seemingly bouncing along in glee and he spoke almost jovially to his bound hostage, "Oh look Snothat, here comes your dearly devoted uncle to save you. Too bad he's not going to last out the day."

They'd reached the crowd and everyone parted to let through their chief and the one who was carrying Snotlout. People leered and laughed at the gagged boy as he was taken past and soon they had made their way to the front where his uncle's ship could be clearly seen. Dagur then turned to Snotlout and gave him a smile that made the boy tremble fearfully, "Now then, seeing that you've been exceptionally well behaved while you've been here I will spare you seeing what we're going to do to your uncle. The whole point of this is to kill him and I might get slightly carried away so I think I'll be nice and make it so you won't actually see the deed."

He gestured to his men and one of them came from the crowd carrying the all too familiar sack. Snotlout struggled desperately but between his bonds and the man holding him he stood no chance of escape. He heard everyone laughing and jeering as in one swift movement he was shoved into the sack and left bound and gagged in darkness.

* * *

Stoick could see the large group amassed near the docks of Outcast Island as he approached and he easily recognised Dagur standing at the front of the group.

He steered his boat towards them and leapt ashore as it landed upon the beach, he strode confidently forward managing to appear a formidable force to be reckoned with even without the weapons Dagur's demands had made him leave behind. He stopped several feet away from Dagur who was standing smugly before him, "It's so nice to see you Stoick! How's Berk getting on?"

Stoick was in no mood to bandy words with the deranged chief, "Where's Snotlout!?"

Dagur sighed, "I hoped to start off with a little small talk but I guess we won't get much done until you've seen him." He spoke loudly to his men, "Show him the boy!"

A man holding a large, wriggling sack came forward and dumped it on the ground, he untied the top and roughly hauled the bound Snotlout out by his hair, the boy giving muffled cries of pain through his gag as he did so.

Stoick's blood boiled at the sight of his nephew being put through such pain and humiliation and he growled out with barely contained rage, "I came here alone and unarmed as you demanded Dagur. Let Snotlout go."

The Berserker chief smirked and the man holding Snotlout shoved the boy back into the sack and retied the top as Dagur answered, "If you remember correctly Stoick my message only said I wouldn't kill him not let him go and technically you didn't come alone."

Stoick gave no indication that he knew what he was hinting at as he answered, "What do you mean?"

To his surprise Dagur began laughing and the Berserker replied sounding almost amused, "I have to say that you're an excellent actor Stoick, I almost believe that you don't know what I'm talking about," he suddenly became deadly serious, "however your little band of Berkians warriors tell me otherwise."

Dagur had obviously discovered his plan and his mind was whirling trying to come up with a new solution and he attempted to stall the Berserker chief to gain some time, "What have you done with my men Dagur?"

The young chief shrugged carelessly, "Oh my men are probably fighting them as we speak and provided that the plan was a success they should finish killing them all fairly soon." He grinned maliciously, "But I think you should more concerned about your little nephew here seeing as his fate is entirely in your hands." Dagur paced in front of him, "Now I should really just kill him seeing as you didn't properly uphold your end of the bargain but I can quite reasonable occasionally and I'll let him live on one condition."

Stoick glared, "What condition."

Dagur stared unflinchingly back as he answered, "That you kneel before me and accept your death by my sword."

Stoick's Viking spirit recoiled in disgust at the thought of kneeling to his enemy and he could feel it screaming at the mere idea of dying like a criminal at the hands of a man using the tactics of a coward. However another look at the sack containing his bound, gagged and terrified nephew made his heart of a Father scream louder and he slowly dropped to his knees and prepared to sacrifice everything for the boy.

* * *

Inside the sack Snotlout couldn't really hear what was going on outside his dark prison and although he hated to admit it he was really scared.

Dagur had made it quite clear that he intended to kill Stoick and the boy was well aware that holding him hostage was going to make that considerably easier. Also the question remained on what would happen to him if the Berserker chief succeeded, the same tactic would be as effective on Hiccup but once his cousin was gone that only left Snotlout himself as a possible heir making keeping him alive more of a hindrance than a help. He couldn't face the thought that his helplessness could result in him losing his family and seriously damage Berk's future.

Desperately he renewed his struggles and strained against his bonds trying his best to force himself free. A kick came from outside, no doubt from one of Dagur's men to try and get him to stop wriggling, but he ignored it and kept up his struggles. Then he felt the sack being lifted and he wriggled even more. It was dumped on the ground once more and after a quick pause light pierced his prison as the sack was opened. A rough hand shot in and violently grabbed his hair and yanked him upwards. The teen couldn't stop the yelp of pain but his gag reduced it to a pitifully high pitched 'mmf' adding humiliation to his physical pain.

He blinked in the harsh daylight and soon saw his uncle standing only feet away. Snotlout didn't hear what words Stoick said as he was distracted by the ongoing pain of the man continuing to seemingly rip his hair out at the roots. Suddenly he was roughly plunged back into darkness as he was shoved back into the sack and it was retied.

He resumed his desperate struggles but his bonds would not loosen in the slightest. Tears came to his eyes as he realised that it wouldn't be long before Dagur carried out his plan and he gave a frustrated roar into his gag which no one heard.

Overwhelmed by his own helplessness Snotlout stopped struggling and waited fearfully.

* * *

Hiccup was flying Hookfang as fast as he could towards Outcast Island though the dragon needed little encouragement to keep his speed up. The other dragons were hard pressed to keep up with their scorching pace but Hiccup was ignoring any pleas to slow down as he felt that he had to reach the island as soon as possible. He didn't know why but some instinct was telling him that they had little time and it spurred him and Hookfang on to even greater speeds.

They reached Outcast Island in record time and soon they were soaring over it. Something down below grabbed Hiccup's attention and he looked to see Gobber and several other Berkians locked in combat with Outcasts and Berserkers. The other riders saw it too and they instantly dived down to assist their people adding to the chaos of the battle. Several of the enemy turned and fled at the sight of the dragons but most stayed to continue the fight. Hookfang managed to make several more run with a widespread fire blast and sent others flying as he flew low clipping their heads with his wings and body leaving a trail of unconscious men behind him. Astrid and Stormfly had trapped some of the enemy with some well aimed spines while the twins kept leaving trails of Barf's gas through the battlefield and then setting light to it causing confusion amongst the Berserkers and Outcasts, this then allowed Fishlegs and Meatlug to charge through like a battering ram ploughing the enemy to the side. The other Berkians dealt with the rest and soon the enemy was in a full disorganised retreat, helped along by Gobber giving them a few well placed kicks in the rear yelling as he did so, "AYE YOU BETTER RUN YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING, LOW-LIFE, COWARDLY KIDDNAPPERS!"

Hiccup landed Hookfang beside the battle roused blacksmith, "Gobber, what is going on?"

It took mere moments for Gobber to relate everything they'd missed and Hiccup prepared to get Hookfang back in the air, "We better hurry, Dad and Snotlout are going to need us."

Gobber agreed, "Aye you lot get yourselves in the air and find them, we'll follow behind as quickly as we can."

Hiccup nodded as Hookfang took off, "Okay Gobber, we'll be as quick as we can."

The dragons shot into the air after them and they headed for the main Outcast settlement, apart from the people they'd already routed there was hardly any other people in the settlement itself but as they approached they saw a huge crowd gathered near the docks. Landing behind some nearby rocks the riders peered out at the scene before them. Hiccup could see his father standing in front of Dagur who was in middle of saying something, behind the Berserker chief was a sack laying on the floor in front of another man. The sack was wriggling and Hiccup realised that it held Snotlout. Like his father anger surged at the thought of what his cousin had likely been through and he mentally heaped abuse onto Dagur's head.

Reigning in his anger Hiccup turned back to his friends and relayed the plan he'd just thought of, "Ruff, Tuff, I need you guys to act as a distraction so Astrid and Stormfly can try and get Snotlout away from the Berserkers, me and Fishlegs will watch her back and keep anyone from trying to stop her."

Tuffnut interjected a question, "Err how are we going to be a distraction?"

Hiccup grinned with just a hint of maliciousness, "Well I think that leaving their base largely unguarded is just asking for someone to come along and blow stuff up."

Ruffnut stared at him in amazement, "Wait…you're actually encouraging us to blow things up?"

"Yes, yes I am." Hiccup's grin grew wider, "As of now I am giving you full permission to destroy anything you want in the Outcast's base."

The twins high fived and then got Barf and Belch into the air almost shouting in glee, "This is gonna be amazing!"

They flew off and Hiccup and the other two watched as Dagur began pacing in front of Stoick still speaking before stopping and locking his gaze with the Berk's chief. Though he didn't know what the Berserker had said Hiccup could tell from his father's expression that it wasn't good, there were a few moments when the two chiefs did nothing but glare at each other until Stoick slowly knelt down and bowed his head. Working out exactly what was about to happen Hiccup looked desperately in the direction the twins had gone, "They need to blow something up over there soon."

He looked back to see Dagur raising his sword preparing to bring it down, with no time left Hiccup and Hookfang braced to charge forwards distraction or not, Dagur tensed ready to swing his sword…when a massive explosion sounded from the Outcast's base.

* * *

 _ **PS-A little bit of a cliff-hanger there but I should update soon, until then please let me know what you thought.**_


	12. Chaotic Battle

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here is where we really get some action. This one contains another additional scene as I continue to put Snotlout through a lot. Thank you everyone who is reading this and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Chaotic Battle**

As the explosion boomed all eyes turned in the direction of the Outcast base to see a huge cloud of smoke billowing from within it…well almost all eyes.

As soon as the explosion had sounded Astrid and Stormfly had shot forwards as if they were powered by coiled springs and headed straight for Snotlout with Hiccup and Hookfang close behind. Dagur had recovered quicker than his men and also darted towards the sack containing his prisoner but Stoick roughly tackled him as he turned his back and they both crashed to the ground.

Some of the enemy had begun to run back in the direction of the base while others had realised what was happing and were charging forward to intercept Hiccup and Astrid or assist their chief, as different men ran three different ways Outcasts and Berserkers ran into each other creating a melee of confusion. It was only increased further when Fishlegs and Meatlug came barrelling through to try and assist their friends and another boom sounded from within the settlement. Suddenly a familiar blue/purple plasma blast impacted near Snotlout throwing the man who was trying to get a hold of the sack into the air and several metres away, Toothless battered his way through the milling Vikings sending them flying left and right as he headed straight for the sack on the ground. Somehow Savage had managed to keep most of his wits and, seeing the approaching dragons, dived forward and grabbed the sack holding Snotlout and ran for the docks carrying it under his arm.

Stoick had a struggling Dagur in a tight hold but he unintentionally loosened his grip when Savage sprinted past carrying his nephew and the Berserker chief took the chance and broke free and ran after his second in command. Several Outcasts blocked the Berkian chief from pursuing and Stoick was forced to engage them in combat. The enemy had now regained their wits and were rallying together, the three dragon riders had been forced to go to Toothless' aid as the Night Fury was beginning to be overwhelmed by sheer numbers and soon dragons and Berkians alike were being hemmed in by Outcasts and Berserkers.

Then green gas poured into the back ranks of the enemy and before they could react it ignited wreaking havoc among them as the twins flew over the explosion they'd created yelling with delight as they did so.

"THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVER!"

"I KNOW!"

A resounding war cry sounded from behind the enemy force as Gobber led the ambush team into the fray throwing them into a panic. Despite the greater numbers of the joint Outcast-Berserker force the Berkian's had greater spirit as well as dragons and soon the battle swung in their favour as their foes began to run this way and that retreating away from the battlefield.

In a relatively short time the battle came to an end as the last of the enemy retreated and Stoick turned his attention back to the ocean to see a ship heading away from the island. He quickly began giving orders, "Hiccup, take the dragons and catch up to that ship but do not engage it, report back to me what's happening on it. The rest of you with me, we'll show them they can't escape the Vikings of Berk upon the open sea!"

There were roars of approval from the Vikings and Hiccup broke away from his reunion with Toothless to remount Hookfang and lead the other riders into the air. Stoick made for the nearest ship with his men close behind him and soon they were powerfully rowing her out in pursuit of Dagur's ship.

* * *

Dagur was venting his frustration on his men.

The young chief was furious that his plan had fallen into a chaotic mess and he was striking out left, right and centre at the few men that had come with him bullying them into greater efforts as they rowed away from Outcast Island, "This was supposed to be my first victory and it was ruined by Hiccup and those infuriating Dragon Riders!"

Savage tried to soothe his maniacal leader, "It may not have gone quite as you planned sir but we do still have the boy so maybe we should look at is as more of a minor set-back."

Dagur rewarded his words by punching him in the face yelling as he did so, "There wasn't supposed to be any set-backs!"

Anything else he was going to say was interrupted by another one of his men calling from position at the stern, "Sir there's another ship following us and the Dragon Riders are coming up fast."

Moving quickly Dagur hauled the wriggling sack which imprisoned Snotlout to the rear of the ship. Looping some rope securely around the tied sack top the Berserker chief threw the rest over the ornamental figure head at the stern and knotted it tightly, he then pushed the sack overboard where it hung above the waves. Eyeing his handiwork Dagur gave a pleased smile, "Let's see them attack us now!"

* * *

Inside the sack Snotlout had no idea what was going on.

He'd been waiting fearfully in the dark when there was an explosion of noise around him. Shouts and clashing metal indicated a battle but he had no idea who was winning, the blasts of fire were telling him that the dragons were here and there'd been one that sounded very like Toothless' plasma blast very close to him. Then he was swept up by someone and the sounds of battle rapidly faded as whoever it was ran away from the fight, Snotlout struggled wildly against whoever was carrying him because he had no idea who it was. A sudden blow from what felt like a fist struck him in the head causing him to see stars as he gave a muffled yelp through his gag, the blow had dazed him and by the time he recovered he found himself being dumped roughly onto another solid surface. It lurched and he realised that he was now on a ship, most likely being taken away from the battle.

Dagur's voice penetrated into the sack but he couldn't hear exactly what he was saying. Suddenly he was being dragged along and he renewed his struggles throwing in several cries and grunts which the three layer gag rendered un-hearable outside the sack. There was a pause then he was flung through the air and there was a terrifying second where he fell until something sharply halted his descent. The sack swung side to side with Snotlout heaped uncomfortably at the bottom and he guessed that he'd been hung over the ship's side. That fact left a very scary hint as to his possible fate and he wanted nothing more than to escape right now but he stayed still and didn't dare struggle against his bonds. Doing so might snap or loosen the rope keeping him hung above the sea and then he'd be in the ocean bound, gagged and trapped in a sack with no way of keeping himself above water, if that happened then his death was certain.

He yelled through his gag clinging to the possibility that someone, anyone, would hear and get him out of his precarious position. However in his mind he knew that between the cloths in his mouth, the one over it and the sack he was trapped in no one could hear his desperate cries and those on the ship he was hanging from wouldn't care if they could.

Helpless as he was he could do nothing but hope.

* * *

Hiccup saw Dagur throw the sack over the stern and leave it hanging there.

He quickly told the other riders to hang back and checked Hookfang from ploughing on and attacking the ship regardless in a desperate bid to rescue his rider. Rapidly taking in who and what was aboard the ship they swung back around to report back to his father. The Berkian ship was rapidly gaining on Dagur's as the Vikings pulled strongly and in unison and Stoick and Toothless were in the prow watching the distance between them and the other ship close. The chief looked up as his son flew alongside the ship on Hookfang's back calling too his father, "They've still got Snotlout and they've hung the sack he's in over their ship's stern, if that falls in then he won't stand a chance. Apart from Dagur and Savage there's only about a dozen of them and they only have close combat weapons."

Stoick nodded and quickly answered, "Good work son. Keep the dragons in the air above our ship and be ready in case you get a chance to swoop in and grab Snotlout. He is top priority."

"Understood dad." Hiccup headed back into the sky to join his fellow riders as Toothless sent a crooning growl after the boy before once again focusing on the ship ahead.

Suddenly the Berserker ship dramatically slowed and turned to face its pursuer with Dagur standing on the prow. Stoick signalled his men to slow their pace and soon the two ships were drifting on the waves facing each other, Stoick called across to the younger chief, "Release Snotlout now Dagur!"

The Berserker called back challengingly, "If you want him then come and get him but if anyone other than you comes anywhere near this ship then my men will kill him before you can do anything!"

"Are you challenging me boy!" Stoick roared out.

"Yes I am old man. Just you and me with no other Viking or dragon interfering. Chief against chief!" Dagur answered.

Stoick simply held his hand out and Gobber handed him an axe and the Chief of Berk twirled it in his hand, "Then I accept your challenge!"

With that he leapt into the other boat and his axe and Dagur's sword clashed.

* * *

 _ **PS-So we now have a one on one duel between Stoick and Dagur, I'll try to update soon and please let me know what you thought of this chapter.**_


	13. The Duel

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter and sorry for the very long wait for this one. Apart from the last section, there's been very little that's been changed in this chapter but I was quite happy with how it was. Thank you for your continued support (and patience) and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **The Duel**

As axe and sword collided silence, barring the clash of metal upon metal, fell over the two ships as they watched the two chiefs battle it out.

Though far stronger than Dagur, Stoick knew that his opponent was quicker and more agile than him so he drew on his many years experience in combat and tried to keep the younger chief on the defensive. For his part Dagur realised he'd underestimated the older man's skill and he found himself working hard to continue dodging, ducking and avoiding the axe swings and thrusts of Stoick.

Outcasts and Berserkers pressed against the ship's sides to avoid the combatants as they fought up and down the ship, Savage was positioned right beside where Snotlout was hanging from the stern while the Berkians looked on from their vessel. The dragons seemed to have sensed the importance of the fight and were hovering some distance away, watching alongside their riders.

Suddenly Dagur surged forwards and Stoick found himself on the defensive as his opponent went more offensive. He used the long handled axe like a quarterstaff to block the Berserker chief's quick sword strikes waiting for an opening, it came when Dagur briefly faltered in his strike due to tiredness and Stoick took the chance. He shot the handle butt sharply forwards striking the younger chief sharply in the stomach with the blunt end. As his opponent doubled over in pain and surprise the chief of Berk quickly adjusted his grip on his weapon and swung the axe blade down.

Dagur recovered just enough to dive to the side at the last minute causing the axe to bury itself deep into the deck leaving Stoick without a weapon. Seizing the opportunity Dagur dived towards him sword ready to strike, Stoick hopped backward and spun grabbing an oar in the progress and used the momentum of his spin to swing it hard towards his foe. Again Dagur narrowly avoided the strike by diving to the ground as the makeshift weapon swung overhead. As the younger chief stood again Stoick adjusted his grip on the oar and held it like a staff, both fighters were tired and they slowly circled each other looking for openings in the other's defences which would let them finish the fight quickly. Stoick deliberately created an opening and was rewarded when Dagur took the bait and pounced.

Quickly sidestepping Stoick swung the oar into his opponent's back as the younger man's own momentum carried him past, causing the Berserker chief to be thrown forwards onto the deck. Taking advantage of his foe's temporary inability to move the Berkian chief dived towards his axe, still embedded in the deck, and ripped it from the timbers. He quickly spun and thrust his axe head forward making it collide with Dagur's sword point which the younger chief was attempting to stab into his back. The blade was caught by the double-bladed axe head and Stoick sharply twisted his wrist causing the sword to be ripped from his opponent's grasp. As Dagur briefly stared in shock at his sudden disarmament Stoick struck out with his left fist sending the Berserker chief flying onto his back. Before Dagur could recover the chief of Berk was up and pinned him with his axe, with his opponent helpless Stoick growled right into his face,

"Let Snotlout go!"

Dagur spat back scornfully, "Why do you care about that brat so much? He's not even related to you!"

Stoick didn't bother to answer, knowing that it would be beyond the mind of his foe, and he simply pressed the axe blade down harder, "Release him NOW!"

"Okay, okay you win!" Dagur yelled.

He then smirked slyly, "Savage, release the boy!"

Stoick sharply turned to the stern just in time to see Savage cut the ropes holding the sack to the ship, causing it to plunge into the ocean.

* * *

The freezing cold was the first thing Snotlout felt as he hit the water and he barely had enough time to take a breath before he sank below the waves.

He could feel himself rapidly sinking as water flooded into the sack. He struggled desperately against his bonds, ignoring the stinging salt water as the ropes cut his body. Water surrounded him and the added weight of the soaked sack pulled him down even faster.

His lungs burned, desperate for air, and panic began to set in making him struggle wildly. Then his body reacted to its need and tried to take a breath, water soaked the cloths that made up his gag, making them feel like they were expanding, blocking his airways. The sea filled his nose and mouth and water poured down his throat. His struggles grew even wilder as his panic dramatically increased and he unintentionally tried to roar in frustration.

So this was it? He was going to drown, bound, gagged and trapped in darkness. He wouldn't even go out fighting, just tied up like a criminal unable to do anything about it. Everyone's last memories of him would be of a terrified boy entirely useless in this whole event, who could only sit around and wait for someone else to save him, a boy who was completely helpless.

As his consciousness rapidly fled from him and his struggles weakened and halted, one thought crossed his mind.

He didn't want to die helpless.

* * *

 _ **PS-So there we go, one one-on-one fight over. Please tell me what you thought and I'll try to update soon.**_


	14. The Last Struggle

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello and sorry for the long delay between the last update and this one but I did eventually boot myself into gear and got on with writing this chapter. Thank you everyone who is reading this and I hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **The Last Struggle**

As soon as Snotlout hit the water Toothless was off the ship and in the sea swimming to the spot where he'd gone down.

Reaching it the Night Fury submerged and began peering through the water trying to find the young one, he saw the sack containing the boy rapidly descending below him and he dived down after him. Toothless could see the sack jerking about as Snotlout no doubt struggled but all too soon the struggles got weaker. He could feel his lungs burn with effort as his own body began to demand air as well, he wasn't designed for swimming and the length of time he could hold his breath wasn't that much longer than a human could. He tucked his wings in as close as he could to lessen the drag of the water and to try and close the distance between him and the still sinking boy. Inch by inch the gap closed and he was feeling the strain on his body due to lack of air, he then noticed the sack cease jerking entirely and Toothless instantly redouble his efforts knowing that the boy needed to reach the surface and fast.

Rapidly getting close enough the Night Fury grabbed the sack and then, with his lungs screaming for breath, he powered his way back up to the surface and the air the imprisoned boy desperately needed.

* * *

On the ships, it was like the splash of Snotlout hitting the water was a starting horn and everyone exploded into action.

At the sight of his nephew falling into the ocean Stoick charged towards the ship's stern as Outcasts and Berserkers leapt in his way and forced him to fight, Gobber and the Berkians powered their own ship forwards to aid their chief and soon they were leaping aboard Dagur's ship and engaging the enemy, Dagur attempted to stab the distracted Stoick in the back but was interrupted by Gobber diving at him and was forced to defend himself from the enraged blacksmith. With an angry roar Hookfang and swooped down and landed heavily on the ship scattering enemy Vikings like ninepins as he swiped about with his wings and tail, Barf and Belch had gripped their tails in their mouth and the Zippleback was rolling through the melee like a runaway cartwheel while the twins gripped the underside of their necks. Some of the Outcasts and Berserkers were starting to board the other ship in an attempt to escape the fight but they were met by Astrid on Stormfly and Fishlegs on Meatlug, as the Nadder swiped Vikings to the sides with her tail the Gronckle was sending them flying overboard using charging head butts. Dagur and Gobber were locked in a one-on-one duel and the blacksmith was pulling off manoeuvres which a man with a false hand and leg shouldn't be capable of.

Dagur's men were losing the will to fight and were abandoning ship, with his number of opponents drastically reduced Stoick was soon at the ship's stern where Savage still was. The Outcast took one look at the enraged eyes of the chief of Berk and decided that his chances of survival were better in the ocean and jumped ship. By now Dagur was the only one left and with four dragons and several angry Vikings to contend with alone, he grabbed a handy plank and joined his men in the water, using the plank as a float he began paddling away ignoring the calls of his men. Astrid made to go after him but Gobber stopped her, "Leave him lass we've got something more important to worry about."

As if to emphasise his words a large splash announced Stoick's dive into the sea in a bid to find his nephew. Vikings hurried to the ship's sides and saw their chief surface briefly before he took a deep breath and dived again. There was a tense silence as the waited and what was mere moments felt more like hours until Stoick resurfaced empty handed. Gobber shook his head at his friend sadly, he knew that it had been far too long for Snotlout already but he also knew that his chief would not give up easily.

He opened his mouth to speak when a roar sounded from the other side of the ship.

All eyes turned in that direction and they saw Toothless bobbing about in the ocean, Snotlout's sack on his back. Quickly Hiccup got Hookfang to swoop down, pluck both dragon and Viking from the water and gently place them on the deck before landing beside them. A couple of men helped Stoick from the water and he dashed to his nephew's side as Gobber began tearing open the sack.

People gasped as Snotlout's sodden, limp form was pulled out. Gobber swiftly cut away the sea-swollen ropes that bound the boy and the cloth that gagged him. The man pulled out the cloths inside the teen's mouth but it was clear that Snotlout was not breathing.

Gobber immediately set about trying to get the boy to breathe as Stoick knelt fearfully beside him, on Snotlout's other side was Hookfang, Hiccup and Toothless and all three stared in desperation. No one dared speak as they waited for something, anything to happen and show that there was still life in the young body. Moments slipped away and some of the adults begun to bow their heads in respect, Gobber was about to give up when suddenly something amazing happened.

Snotlout retched.

The teen's body convulsed sharply and he roughly expelled sea water from it, there was several more moments of coughing, spluttering and retching as he got rid of as much water as he could before he finally took in a long gasping breath. His eyes opened weakly and stared right up at Stoick and he managed a weak smile, "Uncle…"

He then slipped back into unconsciousness and Stoick moved forward in alarm but Gobber placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, "Its all right Stoick, he's just exhausted that's all," he gestured to the boy, "look, he's breathing fine now."

Looking the chief could see the steady movements of the boy's chest and he could hear each breath. He gave a relived sigh and ran a gentle hand through the boy's hair.

Snotlout was back safely where he belonged.

* * *

The voyage back to Berk was quiet and subdued.

Snotlout was still in his exhausted sleep and was curled up on several furs and under a pile more, all donated by the members of the rescue team. Hookfang was loyally curled next to him and it was clear that the Nightmare was not going to let the boy out of his sight for a very long time. His various injuries from his time of captivity had been attended to by Gobber and Fishlegs, most were a result of his tight bonds so were far less serious than had been feared. Regardless, Gobber still suggested that Gothi see the boy as soon as possible, he had very nearly drowned after all.

Stoick was hovering nearby keeping a sharp eye on his nephew, he knew that Snotlout was not going to easily bounce back from what had happened and it would take a lot of work to get him back to normal. They had no idea what the boy had been subjected to by Dagur and although his physical injuries weren't serious, the mental ones were unknown.

From they could tell, Snotlout had been helpless the entirety of his captivity and that was something that never sat well with anyone. Being so out of control of what was happening to you was terrifying and while Snotlout had been in similar situations before, this one had been that bit more intense.

Gobber ambled up beside him, "He'll bounce back Stoick, don't ye worry."

Stoick lightly shook his head, "We don't know what Dagur might've done to him Gobber, that boy is a complete wild card and you know it."

The blacksmith patted his shoulder, "Whatever happened in the last few days, ye'll both find a way to deal with it, ye always do." He nodded, "Snotlout will be fine in the end, you and Hiccup will make sure of it."

The chief sighed, "I hope you're right Gobber."

* * *

 _ **PS-So there we go and please let me know what you thought and I will try and update again soon.**_


	15. Aftermath to New Room

_**Author's Note:**_

 _ **Hello everyone and here is the last chapter of this story. This is a brand new one that wasn't in the original version and it shows a little of the aftermath of what has happened. Thank you all for your support of this story and I hope you enjoy the last chapter.**_

 _ **I own nothing.**_

* * *

 **Aftermath to New Room**

Stoick had been waiting for the yell that sounded from Hiccup and Snotlout's room.

It had been several days since they'd brought the boy home and, as expected, Snotlout was taking time to bounce back from everything that had happened to him.

He'd still been in deep sleep when they'd returned to Berk, Gothi had been at the docks waiting for them and wasted no time examining the teen. She soon declared him as okay, exhausted and recovering from his ordeal but would make a full recovery. While gathered, concerned villagers headed off feeling relieved, the elder pulled Stoick aside and secretly let him know to keep an eye out, Snotlout had spent a week at the mercy of Dagur and his men so he would no doubt have been affected. The chief had already considered the, fairly likely, possibility but knowing that the elder was also concerned further emphasised his worries.

Over the following days, evidence of this became visible.

It wasn't obvious (Snotlout seemed a bit too good at pretending he was fine) but the signs were there.

Firstly, the teen would not go anywhere alone. This was hardly noticeable because Hookfang was point blank refusing to leave his rider's side, heck, even Toothless was always somewhere nearby keeping watch over the boy. However, on the rare occasion Snotlout wasn't right beside someone he trusted, a brief look of anxiety crossed his face and he'd look around for the nearest friend to check they weren't too far away.

Secondly, he avoided people he didn't know well, especially if they were carrying anything remotely like a weapon. Again, it wasn't obvious but Stoick had seen the boy carefully back away whenever a villager he didn't know that well was near. He also would shrink back towards Hookfang, Toothless or Hiccup depending which one of them was with him at the time. Several times, the chief had seen his nephew deliberately move behind his older cousin if a villager was talking to Hiccup about whatever dragon problem had cropped up this time. Whenever he did this, Stoick was certain that his son lightly tapped his younger cousin's hand, as if letting Snotlout know he was safe.

Finally, was the nightmares. Snotlout had once had these regularly, eventually they disappeared as he grew but Stoick was sure they were rooted in a fear of the dark. It hadn't been explicitly stated, partly because of the mocking he might've received from the other kids, but he'd seen enough to draw the conclusion. This fear had plagued Snotlout's sleep for quite some time but eventually it began to affect him less even if it didn't disappear entirely. Now though, his ordeal had made that fear resurface.

As the yell echoed downstairs, Stoick quickly got out of his large chair and hurried up to the room. Inside was pretty crowded since Hookfang had pushed his large body inside to stay with his rider.

It was possible for both boys and their dragons to fit into the room but there was basically no room to move when they did, as such, Hiccup and Toothless had temporarily moved into the forge so the Nightmare could stay with Snotlout instead of in his pen in the arena. Stoick was already planning to extend the house out back to make a room just for Snotlout, this way it could be made large enough to accommodate Hookfang as well since it was likely the dragon would now always want to sleep close by to his rider. In all honesty, both boys were getting too big to keep sharing a room, despite their close bond they would want their own space during their late teens so best to sort that now.

However, that was a future plan, for now, Stoick was more concerned with his nephew's well-being.

Snotlout was sat upright in bed, hugging Hookfang as the dragon crooned at him comfortingly. The teen was breathing heavily, showing that he had indeed woken up with a shout of fear, and Stoick made his way over to his side, "Snotlout."

The boy looked up at him, his upset and fear clear on his face, "I couldn't get out…the ropes…the water."

The chief simply pulled him into a hug and rubbed his back soothingly, "It was just a dream lad, you made it through and we're not going to let it happen again."

Snotlout buried his face into his uncle's chest, "I know but…I keep dreaming about it."

Stoick hugged him just a little tighter, "It'll pass Snotlout, just keep reminding yourself that it's over and the dreams will fade."

The boy nodded but still kept hugging his uncle and the man gently ran a hand through the teen's dark hair. Sometimes, Snotlout would gradually fall asleep again and rest peacefully for the rest of the night, other times the boy would be unable to do so and they'd both spend a long night awake. This seemed to be the latter and Stoick wondered if there was a way he could distract his nephew's attention from his nightmare.

Then he was hit by an idea and he looked down at his silent nephew, "Snotlout, do you want to help me plan your room?"

The teen pulled away from the hug and frowned in confusion, "My room?"

Stoick nodded, "Aye lad, you and Hiccup are getting too old to keep sharing this one and if Hookfang wants to stay near you then it's also far too small. I thought you might like your own room built on the back, we could make it big enough for Hookfang and give you your own space."

Hookfang growled in agreement, seemingly liking the idea a great deal, and Snotlout smiled, "Really?"

The chief smiled back, "Really."

Slowly, Snotlout's thoughts of his nightmare's and his recent ordeal moved to the back of his mind as he began planning his room with his uncle. Neither of them slept much that night but by the time morning came they had the whole thing planned out and Stoick decided to get them started on it as soon as possible.

* * *

Work on the extension actually started the next day.

Once Stoick had mentioned the idea to Gobber and Hiccup they were eager to get started right away, soon, they and Snotlout were gathering the materials required and drawing out a proper set of plans to start building. By the afternoon they'd started work and had even roped in the other riders to help, along with their dragons.

Over the next few days, Snotlout's room took shape. The dragons helped cut down a lot of the heavy lifting and the teens seemed to actually be enjoying doing a job that they didn't usually do. Walls went up, planks were nailed together, roof beams were placed and a roof was put on top of them and soon the interior was furnished and decorated rendering the room complete.

It stuck out from the back of the main hut, almost like a smaller hut stuck on the end. It had two doors, one was the original back door that opened into the main hut's kitchen/front area while the second opened outside and had been made larger to enable easy access for Hookfang. Inside was largely open floor, partly taken up by Hookfang's new bed, with Snotlout's bed against one side of the wall, a chest sitting at its foot. One of the walls had the teen's rather extensive weapon collection while the other held a couple of shelves for his mother's songbooks and a couple of other items he owned. In one of the corners was space for Hookfang's saddle along with the basket that would be filled with his fish to eat, beside this was a small trough that could be filled with water for the dragon if needed.

All in all, it was a very successful project which also had another, lesser known but greatly appreciated, benefit.

Since Snotlout had been so focused on building his new room, thoughts of what had happened to him were gradually pushed out of his mind. Working with his friends had also helped a great deal as he got absorbed in their constant banter and antics and forgot other matters. As the days passed, he began to not have nightmares again and when the room was complete they were basically non-existent.

A good sign.

* * *

During Snotlout's first night in his new quarters, Stoick quietly poked his head inside to check on his nephew.

Snotlout was sprawled in bed snoring uproariously, a clear indication that he was sleeping just fine. On his own bed, Hookfang was curled up in sleep but had raised his head to look when the chief had entered, the dragon rumbled softly at him and placed his head back down, Stoick gently patted the dragon's snout and turned to his nephew. Softly, he ran a hand through the boy's unruly hair and Snotlout's snoring faltered slightly as he gave a contented smile.

Stoick left the room to the sound of the snores of his safe, peacefully sleeping nephew.

* * *

 _ **PS-And finish with some Snotlout/Stoick family fluff (I do like writing it). Please let me know what you thought of this story and thank you all for reading it.**_


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